


A Test of True Love

by NebulaEyes



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: 6000 Years of Pining (Good Omens), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Awkwardness, Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale and Crowley Through The Ages (Good Omens), Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley is Good With Kids (Good Omens), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, God Ships Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Idiots in Love, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Ineffable Idiots (Good Omens), Love Confessions, M/M, Memory Loss, References to Shakespeare, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, The Author Regrets Nothing, True Love, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23756341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NebulaEyes/pseuds/NebulaEyes
Summary: After averting the Apocalypse, God decided to test what is between Aziraphale and Crowley, by turning Crowley human while keeping 6,000 years of memories, but Aziraphale forgets the memories in the 6,000 years that involved Crowley. Crowley made the decision to take this test. However, the test doesn't go how God expected either and there are some things that not even She knew about before starting the True Love Test for them.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley & God (Good Omens), Crowley/Satan | Lucifer (Good Omens)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 59





	1. A Test From God

**Author's Note:**

> This is yet another "Writing as I go" So let's see where this one leads, huh?

When Crowley made it back to his flat after having more celebratory drinks at Aziraphale's, he sighed as he plopped onto his bed in a starfish formation and on his stomach as well. "Perhaps...I can eventually tell him I love him."

"Perhaps you can." Came a familiar voice behind him.

"Oh, hello, Mother." He said as he sat up in his bed. He looked to her with an honest grin. "How have you been?"

"You're taking my being here a lot better than I had anticipated." She smiled as she sat down on the bed with him.

"Of course I am! It worked! Did you see us? I was in Aziraphale's corporation and he was in mine and we lived! That wouldn't have happened if you didn't want it to. You approved of what we did. I knew it the moment I left Heaven...a second time. So...am I right? You showed me. Like I asked. I asked you in the middle of Armageddon to show me a great plan, and then Agnes' prophecy flew to Aziraphale and we were shown. I'm right, aren't I?"

"So many questions, Raphael."

"Sorry." He honestly giggled. "I've missed you."

"And I missed you. You weren't meant to fall, you know."

"I know." He nodded slowly as he looked down at his lap. She then brought his attention to her as she grabbed one of his hands and gently held it.

"Why did you leave?"

"I...Lucifer...he was my brother, and I...I loved him, too."

"I understand." She nodded. "Well, I've come to offer you something. A test, if you will."

"A test of what?"

"Of yours and Aziraphale's love. The two of you have been through so much together, but SCARCELY called each other friends. I know you're heart, Raphael. It's a fragile, tender, and precious thing. I know how he hurt you at the bandstand, and yes. You are right. I did show you, and you both preformed beautifully, but this is a test I am talking about. Not Armageddon. This will be worse."

"Then why would I do it?"

"Because, if you do not do it, then I cannot promise the protection to you, Aziraphale, and humanity that I had wanted your efforts to bring. The only way to keep Heaven and Hell away from the Earth...away from Humanity is for you and Aziraphale to go through the greatest test I have ever created."

"Which is...?" He asked after swallowing a lump in his throat.

"A test of True Love. A test of Soulmates."

"I...but...the tests for True Love and Soulmates hasn't happened since _I_ was in truly in Heaven. They...They were too difficult and it caused so much heartbreak..."

"I know, but I need something strong and eternally lasting on Earth, and the strongest magic and miracle in all of creation...in all and any universe...is True Love. You know this. You helped. You helped create multiple universes AND the magic and miracle of True Love."

"I...I know, but...I...I told you I shouldn't have created it. It caused so much PAIN, Mother. When they found out they failed the tests...Many passed, but the ones that failed...I still remember Michael's face when she failed."

"I know, sweetheart, but it was created, and I'm SO glad you created it. I'm so glad that you've created with me for all the time you did. Earth was one of our greatest works, wasn't it, Raphael?"

"It...really was, but, Mother...I'm the one that created it. My...you would have to make mine and Aziraphale's test the harshest one yet! Not only that, but when you asked me to create something pure, magical, mystical, and the emotional aspect of a miracle...I...I created that, but...It's so FRAGILE! I...you see my heart. You know it. You know what's inside it, but..."

"Raphael, you were never meant to fall, so I would like you to be in Heaven once more. Newly restored as you were meant to be, and doing what you were meant to do. However, if you DO NOT take the test...then it will be an automatic failure, and Aziraphale will never remember you and everything the two of you shared."

"I..." Crowley felt tears go down his face as he realized what his test would be. "...you're going to make him forget me, anyway, aren't you. If we pass...then he remembers."

"Exactly. I know you must think me unfair and evil, but..."

"N-No, but...it hurts, Mother. He'll forget EVERYTHING! Everything. When we met, how he helped me rescue the children and take them to the Ark, that I saved him from the burning of Alexandria and nursed him back to Health for three months, because he had Hellfire burns on his thighs and upper arms. He'll forget that I was there with him when Jesus was crucified, he'll forget the first time I ate oysters and HE tempted ME! He'll...He'll forget when we created the Arrangement, Hamlet, The Bastille, and..."

"...I know, and you'll remember everything. However...for this test...you'll be human and he'll still be an angel. Well...he's going to get special orders directly from me that he's been promoted to Cherubim and is ordered to do as he pleases on Earth as long as it doesn't do any harm to the humans. He'll forget you, you'll remember, you'll be human, he'll be a Cherub, and...if what the two of you have is True Love and if you are each other's TRUE Soulmate...then he'll remember. However, I will not tell you under what EXACT conditions that he'll remember. If you so wish to tell him that you were once an angel, and then a demon, and then a human, so be it. If you want to tell him what the two of you had, so be it, but it is up to him to believe you. It is up to him to welcome you or ignore you."

"I...I'll be human. With...With human eyes?"

"Yes."

"I'll...need a job."

"You will not be without what you need. You'll require human things. Food, water, oxygen, and if you get wounded, you'll need either HIS aid, should he reveal himself to you, or a hospital. You'll need to shower, bathe, shave, pay bills, and your Bentley won't work for you, so I'll give you a different classic car. That one has become far too sentient, because of me, so I'll keep it in Heaven for safekeeping and away from everyone else, but you can have a 1967 Chevy Impala if that's all right."

"Really?" He laughed through the tears. "Deans Car from the Supernatural Universe?"

"Fitting, considering, yes?"

"Yeah..." He sniffed. "...definitely. I...I don't know what he feels for me, but...as the creator of the Heavens, the stars, True Love, and co-creator of Earth, can I make a request?"

"Of course."

"If...If we should fail the test...I want you to protect Aziraphale as if he were me, because don't think I didn't notice for a second all the times I should've died, but didn't. All the times that I TRIED to...but it never happened, and when I WALKED into a CHURCH...to save Aziraphale. Don't think I don't know it was you who kept me from bursting into instant flames like all of the other demons who had tried. I know you've always been there, and I've had faith despite being a demon, so please. If we fail...protect him as you would me, and...if I die a human and you find it in your heart to make me an Archangel again anyway...take my memories, too. I...It would be too much pain."

"I'll honor every request, but the last one. You know that. You helped create the tests as well, but what I can do is keep you away from him if you so choose, but...you will have to live with the pain of failing the test. There are no easy way outs for this. You were a demon...that fell in love with an angel. That...already tested the balance of things, and in turn..."

"...needs to be ultimately tested...to prove it's pure, just, kind, true, and ineffable. I know. I know. I...I accept your test, but...will you be here with me? Will I have a job near his bookshop?"

"I'll pretend to be your co-worker in your plant nursery that will be built across the street from Aziraphale's. I will make it to where everyone thought it was being set up and built there anyway, even Aziraphale. You'll have a three bedroom one story house next to the shop, and the buildings that were there will simple move to make room, and no one on Earth will be none the wiser. You'll have PLENTY of room to work with plants of ALL types, and you'll have plenty of land. It'll be a decent sized place, and you'll own it. I'll be your employee, actually...not co-worker. You'll own the business."

"Okay, but...what if he recognizes you or your voice?"

"I'll be changing form _and_ my voice for this. If he remembers, I'll reveal myself and explain everything. Heaven knows not to interfere, and I've spoken with Lucifer. Hell knows not to interfere either, or any rain that comes to Earth will be Holy Water. Lucifer says good luck, by the way. Oh...wait..." She snapped her fingers, and Lucifer appeared in the room with them.

"About time!" He groaned before sitting on the bed and then proceeding to tackle Crowley onto the bed. "Oh! Brother! It's so good to see you!"

"L-L-Luci!" Crowley stuttered out as he wrapped his arms around the Lucifer he remembered in Heaven before the fall. "H-H-How!?" He asked once Lucifer let him up.

"When Adam denied me...he denied the Great Plan, so in a way...he denied that I was Lucifer the devil and not just...Lucifer. So..." He smiled as he looked to God.

"...so..." God began. "...in Heaven...and only I and soon you...know this...he is restored to what he was. In Hell he's still the devil, but really...on Earth...he can do as he pleases as long as he doesn't harm the humans or Earth."

Crowley took in Lucifer on his bed. He was wearing a black tank-top that revealed his muscles, black cargo shorts, black socks, and black tennis shoes. He had piercing blue eyes, ash blond hair, lightly tanned skin, and freckles all over his arms and face, just like Crowley had, because they decided to have a fight with stardust when God asked them to create a night sky specific to Heaven alone. Not the one the humans knew. They laughed about it later, but when God saw the mess...she wasn't too happy. "You...You're...restored?"

"Yeah!" He nodded. "I am, and..I haven't stopped apologizing. I also know what your test is to be. Accept it. You deserve it, Brother. You and Aziraphale...you've been through a lot! I've SEEN the two of you together before Armageddon! You're happiest when you're with him."

"Y-You saw us and you never did anything!?"

"How could I when I know that you came to Hell for me." He shrugged. "I was happy that you were happy, but...being a demon did have its toll. I couldn't express it like I would've liked to so, I made sure to send you where I believed Aziraphale to be. Now...your test requires an answer. I can be one of your co-workers if you want, and since you'll have the house next to the nursery, I can look after your flat here, if you want. It's not that far away."

"That...might actually help." He nodded before turning to God. "I accept the Test and everything it involves. I'm ready to test True Love and the possibility of being..."

"Cherubim..." She nodded.

"...of being Cherubim Aziraphale's True Love and Soulmate." As soon as he said the words, everything went white and he lost consciousness.

* * *

When he awoke, he felt strange and for once, he didn't feel fallen or heavy. He actually...felt light and...warm. He held a shaking hand to his heart and found it beating. "I'm really human." He then jumped up from the bed he was in and went to where he, likely by God's hand, knew where the bathroom was. He looked in the mirror and sobbed at what he saw. His hair was no longer scarlet, but a chestnut brown, and his eyes were hazel colored. He looked like he once did, but before his fall.

After thirty minutes, he finally dried his tears and eventually heard a knock at the bathroom door. He opened it to find a woman in her mid to late twenties, ruby red dyed hair, emerald green eyes, ivory pale skin with freckles decorating her cheeks and nose as well as her shoulders. She wore a white spaghetti strap dress and white flats. "Came to check on you. Are you okay?"

"Wh-Who are you?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

"Well, that depends on what you want me to be, Raphael."

"MOTHER!?"

"If you want, but I look a bit young to be your mother. Perhaps younger sister."

"What will you call yourself?" He asked before he went to his closet to change into whatever work clothes she gave him for his job.

"I was thinking...Eve."

On his way to the closet he tripped on his own feet and fell forward. Once on the floor, he simply sighed and shook his head as he got up. "That's not funny."

"I think it is." She grinned as she helped him up. "All right, what about...Ella?"

"Oh...Hell no." He scoffed as he finally got his work clothes out of the closet. He was thankful she filled him with some common knowledge of things, but he did go to the bathroom to change. His work clothes were a white T-shirt, blue-jean overalls with the company logo on it, but once he was dressed, he looked at the logo and shouted the only name that came to mind. "YVETTE!"

"Oh, I like that name!" She said.

"Good!" He shouted as he stormed out of the bathroom. "Because I'm pissed! EDEN!? That's name of my plant nursery!? SERIOUSLY!?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Are you REALLY going to argue with me during your TEST!?"

"N-No..." He said as he instantly calmed down. "...I...I apologize, but..." She raised a singular brow that all mothers had when their children utter the word 'but' because something wasn't fair. "All right, but in public, you have to act like my little sister! Not my Mother! Test or no!"

"I understand. Lucifer will be going by Sam and will introduce himself as your twin brother. You two look nothing alike, but sometimes that happens with humans. What will you go by?"

"I...can I just go by Anthony J. Crowley?"

"Yes, but the J actually has to mean something."

"Fine...James."

"Huh...Anthony James Crowley...not that bad. Are you ready for work?"

"I suppose so." He groaned.

"Good. Sam is already almost here, and work starts in thirty minutes."

"I thought I was the boss." He scoffed as he watched her miracle the work clothes on her.

"You are, but I did have to set a little thing called...work hours. With any luck, Aziraphale will see you, and being who he is, will want to greet you. Now, come on. I think you'll like the set up I gave you."

He nodded his head and followed her into the shop. She was right, he did like it, and other than the greenhouse building, it truly did look like Eden, just a smaller version of it. "Say...Yvette...how much money do I have...exactly?" He wondered as he looked at the shop, because he would need plenty of money to handle the water bill and all of the things he needed for the plants alone.

"You're a millionaire...almost a billionaire."

"WHAT!?" He gasped.

"Are you really going to complain? You'll be able to take Aziraphale to the Ritz, now...we have to stop talking about him until he introduces himself with that name to you. Ah! There's Sam."

"Sorry!" He said as he rushed off of his Harley Motorcycle. "I didn't mean to be late."

Crowley walked outside to meet him and shook his head. "You're not late, we've still got about twenty-eight minutes." He then crossed his arms and looked at how Sam was dressed. He seemed ready for the part of employee, but it was a little strange picturing bossing LUCIFER around. "So how long was I out for?"

"Eh...a few days. Mother really did a number on you, but I guess...she's not 'Mother' anymore."

"No, she's out little sister, Yvette and...STOP LAUGHING!"

"I-I can't help it!" Sam doubled over, holding his stomach.

"Well, I'm glad you find it funny. I had to ask who she was." He said as he put his hands on his hips, but that fact only made Sam laugh even harder. "All right, yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Just get in there and look after the vegetable plants."

"Y-Yes sir!" He continued to laugh with his head thrown back as he went inside.

Just as Crowley was about to go inside as well, he heard a familiar voice gain his attention. "Excuse me..." He turned around to see Aziraphale, and he wanted to cry from how happy he was to see him still wearing his outfit. It was, after all, a coat he bought the angel so long ago. "...hello."

Crowley smiled and turned his entire body to face him. "Hello."

"Erm...I uh...I'm...my name is..." Aziraphale seemed flustered as if he didn't know what to say, which to anyone else it would be adorable, but to Crowley he knew he was trying to come up with a suitable human name. "...my name is Alexander Zira Fell. I run the book shop across the street, I noticed that the woman in the nursery had flipped the sign to open, so I wanted to come greet you."

 _'Alexander!? Really, Angel?'_ He thought, but didn't voice. He held his hand with an honest grin and when Aziraphale took it, he replied, "My name is Anthony J. Crowley."

"Ah...what's the J. For?" He asked in such a familiar way, Crowley stumbled over his words just like he did in the church.

"It's uh...I'd LIKE for it to be just a J...sounds cooler that way, but...it's for James. So...I'm Anthony James Crowley. It's a pleasure to meet you Zira."

"I told you..." He started as he ended their hand shake slowly.

"I know, but I just..." Crowley placed his hands in his pockets as he let out a soft chuckle. "...I don't know, I just don't see you as an Alexander."

"Oh?" Aziraphale smirked slightly, which wasn't new to Crowley, but in this instance it was, because he wasn't sure if Aziraphale was aware of it, but it almost looked like a flirting smirk. "And what do you think would suit me?"

"Hmm...well...you can do what I did, and just make your name your first initial when introducing yourself. A...Zira...Fell. Or...if you pronounce it 'Uh-Zira-Fell, but spell it out with the A next to the Z...I think...yes. That suits you perfectly." Crowley silently reveled in the astonishment on Aziraphale's face, but a normal human in this moment wouldn't revel. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just...I um...would...would you be amenable to joining me for dinner later tonight?"

"Dinner?" Crowley asked, because his mind instantly blared a singular word in neon lights. 'DATE!', but he chose to ignore it, because they just met. There was no way it was a date. He was pretty sure he at least knew his angel well enough to know that he wouldn't ask someone out on a date after just meeting them, but this was all completely new...literally...for them both. "Sure. I get off at six, would that be okay?"

"That would be perfect."

"Great, and perhaps you would like to join me for lunch today."

"Goodness..." Aziraphale breathed out. "...lunch and dinner with you in the same day."

"Ah...I apologize, I didn't mean to-"

"-No, there's nothing wrong with it. It just caught me by surprise is all, I um...would love to. When is your lunch break?"

"At noon. I run the shop with my twin brother Sam, though we look nothing a like, and our little sister Yvette."

Aziraphale looked up and noticed the shop name and laughed the laugh that Crowley loved. The one that was practically a giggle, but too much of one to be called a giggle, and where his eyes crinkled in the most adorable way. "Your shop is called Eden."

"Yes..." Crowley sighed as he looked at his shop sign that had a tree and an apple, the root of the tree, the branch in the middle and the branch holding the Apple made the E for Eden. "...my sister thought it would be funny, apparently."

"Is that why...your brother was laughing?"

"No, he was laughing, because I had accidentally called our sister, 'Mother'. There's a lot of reasons why he found that hilarious, but it's complicated. So...I'll see you at lunch then?"

"Yes." Aziraphale smiled at him kindly with a sure nod of his head. "You will. See you then, Anthony." Aziraphale turned around about to make his way to his shop when Crowley decided to try something that made him stop.

"See you then...Aziraphale."

"I...I think I quite like it when you call me that." Aziraphale stated before walking the rest of the way to the bookshop and eventually inside.

Once he was inside, Crowley felt a weight on his shoulder, and knew it was Sam. "So..." Sam said before he sprayed Crowley with the mister. Crowley pushed him away and wiped off his face. "WHAT! I thought you could use a cold shower, and the closest thing I had was a mister!"

"Sam!"

"Oop! Time to go!" He said as he ran back inside, but not without Crowley chasing him inside. They chased each other around the nursery for the better part of ten minutes before a customer came in and asked to see some herbs.

Soon, noon rolled around and a customer just walked in right after Aziraphale, who seemed nervous for some reasons. Needless to say, though, Yvette and Sam were stunned when they saw him walk in, but they tried their best not to show it. "If you'll give me just a moment, Aziraphale, then I can get changed real quick and we can go. Just let me take care of this customer."

"Take your time, Anthony." Aziraphale smiled.

Crowley felt the weight again, but this time on both shoulders as he was yanked away and, even though he was human, he still noticed a miracle when it was there. It was a silencing miracle and a 'notice me not' miracle. Basically what he and Aziraphale used to use when they REALLY wanted to stay under the radar and didn't want anyone to notice a miracle had just been preformed. "WHAT THE HELL, CROWLEY!?" Yvette, of all beings, whisper shouted at him.

"Yeah, why did you call him that?"

"Because..." Crowley smiled. "...He said his name was Alexander Zira Fell. I told him I didn't think the name Alexander suited him. He challenged me and asked what name I thought fit him, so I said he could just put his first initial next to his middle name and then smoosh his name together. A...Zira...Fell, or pronounced like 'Uh-Zira-Fell.' Then...he said that he liked me calling him that. Now, I'd love to talk about this, but we do have a customer, and they have a child, and since NEITHER of you have dealt with human children in SUCH a long time, and even then it's questionable, if you would like to remove the miracle..." They did, and he nodded his head. "...thank you." He walked over to the customer with what had to be a five year old little girl, and asked, "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes, I was...Lily, stop that!" He scolded as the child continued to wiggle while he held her hand. He was also holding an infant in another arm. "You have to keep holding my hand!"

"I wanna see the Strawberries!" She whined, but not in a tantrum child way. In a way that said sorry, but she just wanted to.

"We can in a moment if they have some. Daddy's talking."

She kept wiggling around as she held his hand, and it caused Crowley to smile for a moment until her wiggling got out of hand and she accidentally knocked over a pot that could break. However, before it could complete the fall, he quickly scooped up the girl so that she wouldn't accidentally cut. "Whooee..." Crowley said with a slight laugh.

"I-I'm so sorry, Sir!" The Father began apologizing.

"It's fine. She's a child. Things are bound to break, and she REALLY wanted to see some strawberries, huh?" He asked as he balanced her on her hips while he held her.

"Yeah, I wanted to see Strawberries!"

"Well, you did just knock over my pot sweetie, and it was because you weren't listening to your Daddy."

"I...I'm sorry." She started to have tears slowly fall from her eyes, but Crowley just smiled kindly at her and wiped away her tears while holding her tightly to his side.

"Shh...it's all right. Accidents happen, but you should've listened. You could've gotten hurt if I didn't pick you up. Now, as FUN..." He said as he bounced her up and down and spun around, causing her to giggle lightly. "...as it is to hold you, I do need to clean up this mess. If your Daddy says yes, then you can help, but you have to listen to what we say, okay?"

She frantically nodded her head. "Okay!"

"Good." He turned to the father and asked, "Is that okay?"

"Yes." He sighed, seemingly relieved that Crowley wasn't angry. If he was a demon, he would be...frustrated and look it, but since he wasn't...and he was technically free even if he still was, he could be himself without caring what others thought.

"Okay, so I'm going to put you down, and go find some gloves for you, and then we'll clean this little mess up, and we'll go see some strawberries, okay?" She nodded once more and he carefully put her down so that he could go get some gloves. "I'll be right back. Be careful." He made his way towards Yvette and Sam, who looked impressed, and then he saw Aziraphale, who apparently found the whole scene immensely adorable, because he was wearing the same face when that former 'Nun' said the Antichrist had 'lovely little 'toesie woesies.' He also noticed that Aziraphale made a show of looking around before he 'miraculously' found a small pair of gloves that would...'miraculously' fit the girls hands.

"Oh! I think I found some gloves." The angel said, unwittingly gaining the amused and wide-eyed look from God Herself, and a furrowed brow accompanied by a curious smirk from Crowley.

"Wasn't aware we had any kid gloves, Aziraphale." He whispered and at his words, Aziraphale blushed and looked shocked for a moment. "Thank you." Crowley whispered anyway as he took them from Aziraphale, allowing their hands to brush just a bit. "Well, thanks to my friend we DO have some gloves that'll fit you nicely."

"Wow! Their Pink!" She gasped as she put them on, before her Daddy helped with the Velcro.

"All right, now..." Crowley pulled his gloves out of his pocket and put them on. He then grabbed an empty pot from under the table that the pot fell from. "...let's put the pieces in here." He said as he also pulled out a plastic bag from his pockets and placed it into the pot. "Then, I'll show you that we can still re-pot the plant in this one." He smiled.

Together they cleaned the up the mess and put the spilled soil into another pot along with the plant that fell. "What...What's it called?"

"Aster. These, when they bloom..." He said to the little buds that just started growing. "...will be pretty flowers of a bunch of different colors."

"Wow!"

"Yes, and IF your Daddy lets you, since you've been a big help, you can take it home free of charge and you can watch the flowers bloom."

"Oh! Can we, can we, can we!" She jumped up and down as she looked up at her Daddy with puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, of course we can, but please, keep your voice down, sweetie. Your little brother is still sleeping."

"Okay." She whispered as she made a 'shh' motion to her mouth.

Crowley picked up the plant and carried it as they walked to the strawberries. "Is it okay if she has one?" He whispered to the Daddy while she gushed over how red they were.

"Yeah." He laughed.

"Question, why don't you have one of those..." Crowley motioned to try and signal the harness that held babies.

"That's what we were out for, but I also promised my wife to get her a strawberry plant."

"I see." He nodded before he crouched down next to the little girl. "Would you like to eat one?"

"Yes, please!"

"Okay, let me show you how to pick it. You have to be very careful." He showed her how to pick it and she giggled when she got it right on the second strawberry and together they ate their strawberries until they were gone. "This one is sweet, I think your wife will love it." I'll carry them over to the register unless you would like a cart and to look around some more."

"No, no thank you. Both are just fine. You've been great with her, thank you."

"It's nothing. I love children." It was the truth. He always saw unlimited potential in them, and was always furious when parents squashed on that potential.

"Have any of your own?"

"Ah, afraid not. Be a bit impossible for me, I'm afraid. Well...I suppose I could adopt, but um..."

"Oh...are you..." He looked down at his daughter with a look that she apparently knew, because she covered her ears real well. "...if you don't mind me asking...are you Gay?"

"I am. I've always been attracted towards men. I hope that doesn't bother you."

"No, not in the least. My Brother's Gay, but I don't want her asking me what that is just yet, you know?"

"Yes." Crowley laughed out. "I understand."

Crowley rang him up at the register, and the man along with the plants and his family left and got back in their car. "Right, sorry about that, Aziraphale, I..." He started as he walked up to Aziraphale, who was blushing for some reason.

"Anthony..." Yvette called out. "...if you want to take the rest of the day off, we've got it from here."

"Are you sure?" He asked with wide eyes, but both Sam and Yvette smiled at him and nodded their heads.

"We'll call you if we need you."

"Thanks." He then looked at Aziraphale and said, "If you'd let me get changed, I know this wonderful restaurant with the BEST Sushi."

"Go ahead. I can wait. I was just thinking about Sushi."

 _'Of course you were.'_ Crowley thought before he ran out of the nursery and into his house. He looked in his closet and was honestly relieved that there wasn't much black. There was enough of that color in Hell. However, he still liked dark colors, so he settled on a dark grey T-shirt, black jeans that ACTUALLY fit and didn't require a miracle to get in and out of, and he settled on some black sneakers. After he made sure his hair looked all right, he heard his phone go off, so he looked at it. It was a text from Sam.

**_Sam:  
_ ** **_Are you...actually...going on a date!?_ **

Crowley:  
It's not a date!

**_Sam:  
_ ** **_Except it is! I can tell your twitterpated! And you're going out to lunch!_ **

Crowley:  
Dinner later tonight as well. Also, no one says twitterpated anymore.

**_Sam:  
_ ** **_Oh, Mother! You've got it bad! You are SO going on a date! TWO DATES! In the same DAY!_ **

Crowley:  
Just be sure to watch the texts, okay?

**_Sam:  
_ ** **_I know what you mean. Have fun._ **

He grabbed his wallet, his keys, and stuffed his phone in his pocket before finally leaving the house and locking it up. "Okay..." He said as he walked back into the nursery. "...ready to go?"

"I was waiting on you." Aziraphale remarked, and for a split second, Crowley was about to say 'Let's go, Angel', but he thought it best not to jump too far.

"Well, let's go." He said as he opened the door for Aziraphale.

"This...is your car?"

"Something wrong with her?" Crowley wondered honestly.

"No, she's beautiful. A 1967 Chevy Impala, right?"

"First off...how do you know what car it is, and secondly...yes."

Aziraphale got in, and Crowley closed the door before getting on his side and starting their drive towards the restaurant. "Well..." Aziraphale began. "...I know a bit about cars. I...don't like to talk about it, because my erm...former boss said there...was no use in learning of such things. They didn't benefit the...um...company."

"Your boss is a wanker." Crowley said as he, for once, drove the speed limit, which was kind of nice with Aziraphale in the car.

"He was...rather...if I'm to be honest."

"So...what had you interested in cars?" Crowley asked, because this was something entirely new about Aziraphale that he didn't know, and as far as he knew, God didn't change anything about Aziraphale except for his memories.

"Honestly...I can't remember. All I know is that there was a time when I wanted to know more about cars and classic cars, so I did."

_'Huh...so it must've had something to do with me if he forgot, but the fact is...he remembered wanting to learn.'_

"May I ask you something rather...forward?"

"You may." He nodded before he reached for the glove box to pull out a pair of sunglasses that were thankfully there, because the sun was blinding him.

"R-Right...well...I heard you confessing to that man earlier that you were Gay. I um...I'm not very...acquainted with rules of...erm...dating, but...we ARE going out to lunch and then...later...dinner. A-Are these...is THIS a...um...Date?"

"U-Um..." Crowley stuttered as they grew closer to the restaurant. "...D-Do you w-want it to be?" His heart pounded, which wasn't new, but the real threat of a heart attack was new.

"W-Well...if I'm still allowed to be quite forward in this situation...I-I...yes. I would actually...I would like for it...for these to be counted as Dates, which...is completely strange, I just met you, but...there's just something about you..."

"R-Right...so...we're...dating?"

"I...If you're all right with that. Oh goodness..." Aziraphale slumped in his seat as he covered his blushing face with a hand over his eyes. "...I've made a mess of this."

"You haven't made a mess of anything, Aziraphale."

"I...I may not know much, Dear Boy, but I at least know that usually people get to know one another before they're dating."

"True, but I guess...we're just different. I..." Crowley let out a laugh as the realization washed over him. "...you know...If we're dating...th-then...that makes me...your boyfriend, and...it makes you mine."

"I think it's dating...and then boyfriends." Aziraphale stated as he blushed while looking out the window.

"Oh..." He said, while thinking, _'Shit! Way to Fuck up the first date! TOO FAST!'_

"H-However..." Aziraphale still said with his face turned towards the window. "...I...I quite like the sound of that. Being your boyfriend...that is."

"S-So..." Crowley stuttered some more as he tried to swallow his heart, so that it would go back into his chest where it belonged. "A-Aziraphale...would you...would you please be my boyfriend?"

He parked the car in the correct parking space at the restaurant, nervously staring at his hands still on the wheel. "Anthony, will you look at me when I answer."

"N-Not sure, Angel." His eyes widened at the word that left his mouth, and he DID look at Aziraphale, and he noticed that Aziraphale was the color of the strawberries he picked today. "F-Fuck, I'm sorry, Aziraphale."

"N-No, don't be sorry. I...I like it. I-It's a t-term of endearment, yes?"

"I-It is." Crowley nodded.

"Th-Then...I wouldn't mind you calling me that, if you want to, because...my answer is yes. I would like to be your boyfriend."

"Right...so...we're boyfriends now." Crowley finally swallowed his heart and smiled at Aziraphale. "I...I almost can't believe it, but...I'm happy."

"Same. It...wow...we moved fast, didn't we, Dear Boy. We just met today and now we're boyfriends."

"Perhaps it was meant to be."

"You think?" Aziraphale asked with widened eyes.

"Yeah, I...I really do. It's...a bit...Ineffable. Isn't it?" He hated the word, but it was the only word he could use to describe it.

"It really is. Now, I...I do believe I was promised lunch."

"Yes, of course. Let's get you something to eat, Angel."

They went in, they were seated, they ordered, and eventually their food was at their table. "So...I...I think I should know a little about my boyfriend." Aziraphale said as he blushed while dipping his sushi in soy sauce.

"Okay...we can play the favorites game." Crowley said. "I say something that's my favorite and you say yours and hopefully we'll start something from there."

"I like that idea." Aziraphale nodded. "Okay...who's your favorite author?"

"William Shakespeare." Crowley answered, because it was true. He was always frustrated when William would take something he heard him say and make it his own, but he was a decent guy and most of the time, what he wrote was his own.

"I'm sorry, Dear Boy, but..." Aziraphale giggled lightly before eating his sushi. "...you don't strike me as one who's FAVORITE author is Shakespeare."

"Doubt thou that the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; but never doubt I love." Crowley recited, causing Aziraphale to drop his next sushi roll AND his chopsticks while another furious blush graced his features. He then realized that he basically told Aziraphale he loves him. 'Well...in for a penny...' He thought before he said another quote, "I know no ways to mince it in love, but to directly say 'I love you'." There, it was out there...during the test that would either give him everything or take away everything.

"Wh-When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew." Aziraphale recited, shocking Crowley with what he said. He then cleared his throat and looked down at his Sushi. "M-My real name IS Aziraphale. I...c-can I tell you something and you not think I'm crazy, or rather...show you something and you remain here?"

"Of course, but why did you lie to me about your name?" Crowley asked just for good measure.

"I...I'm about to explain it to you, because frankly...lying to you...I-I've never felt sick before...but lying to you...or pretending to be something or someone I'm not...It's honestly make me feel immensely nauseous to the point where I might be sick. I um...if you don't mind...me doing something a bit drastic...no one will notice I assure you...but it may hurt physically, but only for a moment." He watched Aziraphale grab a knife and knew what he was planning to do, so he held out the back of his hand, which stunned Aziraphale for a moment. "O-Okay...I...didn't expect you to agree so readily..." Aziraphale made a light, but bleeding cut in Crowley's hand, and though it would hurt any other human, Crowley's soul still knows what being in Hell's torture chamber is like after getting caught doing something nice. This was a cloud brushing against him comparably. "Sorry, Dear Boy..." Aziraphale then placed a 'notice-me-not' miracle before healing Crowley's hand with angelic power. "...I...I'm...when you called me angel...you weren't wrong."

"I can see that." Crowley smiled, because to him, this was one step closer to normalcy. He NEVER expected to get here as fast as he did, being allowed to know or rather, pretend to find out about Aziraphale, but he was having to stifle a giddy laugh. "What kind of angel are you?" He asked as he continued to eat his Sushi.

"I...I WAS a Principality, but now I'm a Cherubim. I...I was promoted, but I don't exactly know why. I was told that I had pleased God, but I'm not sure...exactly what I did. I...you...you believe me, don't you?"

"Of course I do. You just cut and healed my hand in a matter of seconds. Not only that, but you talk as if your still stuck somewhat in the past, which is fine, but it does make me want to show you something later tonight. What do you say we turn Dinner into a night time picnic? I want to show you something important and I know the perfect place where we can look at the stars."

"I...you...you're not frightened? O-Or...but I'm so much older than you!"

Crowley smiled and quoted William Shakespeare once again, "Then let thy love be younger than thyself, or thy affection cannot hold the bent."

"W-Well said." Aziraphale smiled and sagged in relief. "Th-Thank you, Dear Boy, and a night time picnic sounds lovely."


	2. Learning

They talked a little about William Shakespeare and Crowley was more than happy to listen to Aziraphale's usual prattle about his books. Then came time for them to leave the restaurant, and Crowley dropped Aziraphale off right at his door, despite being across the street from him. He then parked at his house and walked into the nursery with a giddy and dreamy look on his face as he continued to think about the fact that he and Aziraphale were boyfriends. When his legs couldn't take it anymore, he sat down on one of the benches near the register. "Had a good date, I take it?" Sam tried to tease.

"It WAS a good date. The best, and the first date I've ever been on."

"H-Hold up!" Yvette said as she sat down next to Crowley. "So...the two of you DID call it a date?"

"Aziraphale did first." He smiled, not really looking at either of them as the word 'Boyfriends' kept echoing in his mind. "He um..." He cleared his throat as he did try and focus. "...He also told me WHAT he is. He told me he was a Principality, who pleased God somehow, but he doesn't know why, and now he's a Cherubim. He was afraid I would run off, but I didn't. Before that...we um...now we're...He's my Boyfriend."

"HE'S YOUR WHAT!?" It was a good thing that there was no one in the nursery, otherwise they would've seen that even the plants were shaking their leaves in shock as both Sam and Yvette exclaimed their astonishment.

"Mhm." He nodded as he looked at Yvette. "I...we were both flustered, I felt like a fucking teenager..." He laughed lightly. "...We um...quoted Shakespeare at each other when we were at the restaurant. Say...Mother...?"

"Y-Yes?" She blinked, because honestly, she didn't expect to be called that during the test.

"Is it possible for Love at First Sight to happen twice?"

"That's the kind of love you had for him?" Yvette asked with an awed tone.

"Yeah, I thought you knew." Crowley furrowed his brow.

"I...I knew when and where the two of you met, but I was also handling Heaven at the same time. What...What Happened?"

Crowley told her how he tempted Eve, how he slithered up the wall, and the discussion he and Aziraphale had on the wall. He also told of what Aziraphale did with his wing, which caused Sam to ask him to stop. "What?" Crowley asked.

"He...the two of you JUST met, and he lifted his LEFT wing over your head, not his RIGHT?"

"Yeah..." Crowley said as he noticed the worried and nervous looks on their faces. "...What's wrong with that?"

"In your fall..." Yvette began to explain. "...you lost some memories, but I didn't think...You had told me in Heaven that you...but I didn't think to..."

"What is it, Mother? What did I lose?"

"You and Aziraphale...well..."

Sam cleared his throat and let out a sigh. "When an angel lifts their RIGHT wing, it means a general protection of someone they like. A friend, a comrade, a brother, or even just an acquaintance. EVERY angel has these instincts before you go saying perhaps Aziraphale didn't know. Once it's there...Instinct takes over and does what it does best. Now, when an angel or even a demon raises their LEFT wing over someone...they're protecting their mate."

"MATE!? Wouldn't I remember that kind of thing!? Wouldn't Aziraphale!? I mean...mates WERE allowed even without the tests, but...I think I would remember being his mate!"

"They...they also raise a wing the day they fall in love. Then...if the um...recipient of the raised wing...if they move closer...under the wing...then they are accepting the role of Omega to an Alpha. It's...only an Alpha that raises the wing, and the Alpha CHOOSES a mate. S-So...even if he didn't realize it. He chose you...in one of the most intimate ways he could. Quite literally...in front of God and everybody, considering she had JUST kicked out Adam and Eve."

"Y-Yes, but I didn't see that!" Yvette stuttered out.

"He...CHOSE me!? And I KNEW the stuff about the Alpha and Omega thing, but...the raised wing...that lost me, but you're telling the truth. So...he REALLY Chose ME!? Way back then?"

"Even if he didn't realize it, yes." Yvette answered. "However, if...if my assumption is correct...then he may have chosen you a lot earlier than Eden. You came to me one day happier than I had ever seen you, and you told me that an Alpha chose you and that they were the most beautiful being you had ever seen. I said I was happy for you and wanted to know more about them, but you were so caught up in your happiness that you said you had to go and give him something..." Yvette's face went incredibly pale. "...important."

"Mother...why do you look like that?" Crowley asked. "What did I give him?" He asked as he stood up and moved towards some of the ceramic pots and glass vases to look at them before turning around and repeating the question.

"I...I think you gave him...the first ever wedding ring."

Crowley the demon had never once fainted in his entire existence, but Crowley the HUMAN on the other hand, instantly fainted as he put two and two together. The last word he heard was surprisingly from Aziraphale's mouth after their nursery door's bell jingled. "Crowley!"

* * *

When Crowley came to, he was on something soft that he didn't recognize as his bed, but was instead propped up against something else that was soft and warm. When he tried to move, he actually cried out in pain, because his neck and his head hurt at the same time. "Careful now, My Dear."

"Aziraphale?" Crowley groaned out through the tears that fell. "Wh-What happened."

"I came in to talk to you and maybe buy one of your plants, but then you fainted. The ambulance is on their way. I'll ride with you all the way there, Yvette and Sam said it was okay and that they would follow, but...you have a very nasty cut on the back of your neck that goes up onto the back of your head. Not to mention on your back and all over your arms. You fainted onto the ceramic and glass and were injured badly. I'm trying to keep pressure on it."

"D-Did...Am I getting blood on your coat?"

"Yes, but I'll be all right, Dear Boy."

"Heh...you must be really worried, Angel. You've...never...let that...coat get dirty. Not...since...I...bought...it for...you." Crowley didn't register what he said, and even if he did, he was facing forward, so he didn't see the perplexed and tearful face that Aziraphale was wearing, and before either of them could say more, Crowley passed out once more.

* * *

When he awoke again, Crowley groaned in pain as he not only felt the pain from the cut, the stitches, and the completely supernova of a migraine, but he realized he was in a hospital bed, which meant he probably tested positive for a concussion. He also immediately felt all of the cuts and scratches he had on his back and arms. "Oh...my head."

"A-Anthony?" Aziraphale's voice called out next to him.

"Ah...Aziraphale...you...helped me. I..." He slowly turned his head and then noticed the blood on the coat and whimpered at the added emotional pain. "Oh no...I got your coat bloody. I...I'm sorry. May I ask...how long was I out for?"

"You've been in and out of it for four days, but mostly you've been sleeping."

"You...You've kept blood on your coat for four...days?" He asked before turning his head to look back up at the ceiling, because the cut really did still hurt, and whatever pain meds he was on they must be late with, because it was getting worse.

"I...I did. It...you said something to me before you passed out on my stomach. When we got here, I tried to take it off, many times, but every time...I broke down crying. I...I can't recall feeling heartache before...but...if I removed the coat...it felt like I was...it's silly, but it felt like I was removing you, and I just...I couldn't. I don't understand, Crowley...erm...Anthony...we just met today. Didn't we? Please...you...what you said...it implied that you knew me when I got this coat, but that was SO long ago. D-Did...Did we know each other and I...I've merely forgotten? I...Sam and Yvette went back to the shop, but I've...I've never left, because I...I need to know. Y-You're human...aren't you? You bleed like any human..."

"Angel, hold my hand, please?"

Aziraphale nodded and did as he was asked. "I've got you."

"Thank you, Aziraphale. Now, I...there's a lot to tell you, but you'll have to keep an open mind, okay? If...If you don't believe me...I don't know what I'll do, but...I'll figure it out. Can you listen? You can ask questions, but can you listen? Everything I tell you will be the truth, I swear it."

"As long as you tell the truth. I...I think I'm owed that after what you said to me. You told me you bought me this coat."

"R-Right. Well...I did."

"Explain, please."

"S-Sit on the bed with me so I can see you." Aziraphale pushed the buttons to lift up the bed, causing Crowley to wince from the movement, but once it was done, Aziraphale adjusted his pillows and miracled them to be more comfortable before he sat on the bed with Crowley, still holding his hand. "Thank you. Now...what I wanted to show you tonight...or...four nights ago...I guess...were the stars. I made them."

"That...That would indicate you were the Archangel and Seraphim Raphael."

"I was." He slowly nodded, but soon regretted it. "I wanted to show you my stars. The names that I personally made for them, not the humans. Although...the names and pictures they made out of them always made me happy."

"I haven't...I mean...No one...has seen Raphael since..."

"...Since The Great Rebellion. I know. I was there...and I voluntarily left. I wasn't cast out like the others, but Lucifer was my brother, and I loved him. He was my twin brother. We were made first. We're the oldest aside from God. I jumped in after him with a heavy heart, and I lost some memories from Heaven, I knew. Some I didn't realize until recently, but I knew. I was reduced to two wings after that. I still remember how the sulfur burned my skin. I was given the new name of Crawley. Didn't like it already, but I agreed."

"Crowley...have I been saying it wrong?"

Crowley chuckled lightly until it hurt. "No, Angel, you've been saying it right. Don't worry, we'll get to there. Anyway, I got mad at someone in Hell...I think it may have been Hastur...and I turned into a large snake. I didn't want to, but I did, and they thought I was the perfect candidate to send up to stir up some trouble."

"You...YOU tempted Eve to eat the Apple!?"

"I did, but I didn't know God would kick out the humans. I thought She might be a little mad at them, you know, but I didn't think She would kick them out. Anyway, after they were kicked out...while Eve was still pregnant, I slithered up to the Eastern gate, and met you. We met in Eden. I...I loved the humans. I loved the idea of them, and the fact that them getting kicked out was my fault...I slithered up that wall to get smote by the closest angel I could find. It didn't happen of course, because you gave away your flaming sword, but...when you told me that...I fell in love."

"You what?" Aziraphale's voice was so small that Crowley nearly didn't hear it, but it made him smile all the same.

"I fell in love. I said, well that went down like a lead balloon, you agreed, we started talking, and I asked you where your flaming sword went and you told me you gave it away. I couldn't believe it! An angel gave away a God given sword, and then you said it was to the humans, and I...you were so amazing and wonderful and mischievous...It was love at first sight for me. Then, the rain came and...you raised your left wing over me, and I scooted closer towards you. I...I didn't know what that meant at the time." He explained as he noticed Aziraphale's jaw drop. "I learned that far later."

"You...but even humans didn't know about..."

"I wasn't human until recently." He replied, but soon he felt his stomach ache. "Oh..." He groaned as he held an arm over his stomach.

"What's wrong?"

"I...I'm hungry. Have I not eaten this entire time?"

"They've been giving you liquids, when you're awake, but you sometimes weren't...um...aware. You would eat, but not much. Do you want me to go ask the nurse or doctor if you can have some food?"

"If you don't mind." He said with a pleading look.

"I-I don't, but this discussion isn't over."

"Believe me, I know it isn't." Crowley sighed as he slowly let go of his hand. "Say, after you ask the nurse if I can have some food, you should probably go home and change."

"I...are you sure?" Aziraphale asked as he started to look and nervously mess with the hand that just held Crowley's.

"Yeah. You can come back either later or tomorrow."

"D-Do you really w-want me to leave?" He asked as if he was stalling for more time, which warmed Crowley's heart a bit, but now was the time to brutally honest.

"I've never likes seeing blood on you. The fact that it's my own...hurts."

"I could just..." Aziraphale bit his lip as he tried to contemplate his next words, but Crowley knew them well.

"...you could just...miracle it away, but you'll always know it was there. Underneath. You can come back, Aziraphale. I'll be here. If I need to call you, I know the shop's phone number."

"Y-You know my phone number? I...I haven't given it to you or your family...I-If what you say is true...have you been IN the shop?"

"Lots of times. You've even let me fall asleep on your couch after a night of drinking."

"But...you said you fell. You went to Hell. That would make you a demon."

"Yes, it would. I did also say that I was the snake in the Garden of Eden." Crowley gave him a pointed look before relaxing once more. "If...If you don't want to be my boyfriend anymore, I understand, but I would like to fully explain myself."

"I...I don't know, A-Anthony...or is that even your real name?"

"You had it right the times you accidentally called me Crowley. All a part of the story. Now, Aziraphale, I really don't want to be rude, especially to you, but I'm hungry, and you should go change."

"O-Okay. I'll be back though."

"I look forward to it." He smiled as he watched Aziraphale slowly leave. Almost as if each step away from him made Aziraphale's heart heavy, which was a nice, but terrible thought.

When Aziraphale opened the door, a little girl burst in with a bunch of her friends and their parents quietly trying to tame them. "Well!" Crowley laughed as well as he was able, trying not to notice that Aziraphale lingered at the door with a saddened look before the angel closed the door. "What's all this then?"

"Miss Yvette told me and Daddy that you were in the Hospital so I asked my friends if they wanted to go see the strawberry man! Daddy said your name was Anthony, so we had to write that on the card...but..." She bounced up and down and lifted her strawberry. "We brought you strawberries!"

"Oh! Well, thank you! I was just getting hungry. Can you all put them on that tray right there? I'll have to eat them one at a time and slowly, because I accidentally hurt myself really bad."

"You have lots of owies!" Lily pouted. "Do you want us to kiss them and make them all better?"

"Yeah!" One little girl shouted. "We can kiss the boo-boo's!"

"I want to kiss the small ones!" A little boy quickly said.

"Good, I wanna kiss the big ones!" Another little boy said.

"I wanna give the Strawberry man a hug!" A little girl grinned.

"ME TOO!" They all jumped up and down.

"Children!" Crowley laughed lightly. "How about you tell me your names first, okay?"

"Oh! Well...you know me. I'm Lily." Lily grinned.

"I'm Michael." The boy that wanted to kiss the small ones said with pride.

"I'm Joshua!" The boy that wanted to kiss the big ones said.

"I'm Hannah." The one that said boo-boo's said.

"I'm Elizabeth." The one that wanted to give 'the strawberry man' a hug said.

"Lilly, Michael, Joshua, Hannah, and Elizabeth. Nice to meet all of you. I'm Anthony, but if you want, you can keep calling me Strawberry Man. It's like a superhero name. Now, come on the bed if you want. There's plenty of room." He told them as he moved his legs and worked to sit up. "You'll have to be careful though. I hurt in a lot of places."

"Mr. Crowley, are you sure?" One of the parents asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. As long as they are gentle, they'll be fine."

"They're all five year old's." Another parent winced.

"I know, but they can learn gentleness this way. It's okay. I've been through tougher things than this." He said, thankful that the kids were ignoring him as they ooed and awed at his cuts and scrapes.

"And you're still such a happy man." Lily's father whispered out in shock.

"I've been blessed with a good long life and a friend I wouldn't give up for the world."

"Was that who we just saw? Your _friend?_ " Michael's father asked with a risen brow to suggest if that was his boyfriend.

"Ah, that's...my brother." Lily's father explained, which told Crowley what he needed to know.

"I see." Crowley nodded. "Yes. He is my _friend_ , but things are rather complicated right now. I sent him home to go get changed...even though he didn't want to."

"I understand." Michael's father nodded his head sympathetically.

"Thank you." Crowley grinned before looking back at the kids. "Now, you can all kiss my boo-boo's but one at a time so that no one is crowding and so I don't get hurt more than I already am. Okay?"

"Okay! Lily should go first!" Michael said. "She was crying all the way here."

"WAS NOT!" She pouted before looking back up at Crowley with her puppy dog eyes. "Strawberry man...can I go first, please?"

"Of course, Lily. Just don't kiss the one ones on my back, okay? Just my arms."

The kids took their turns one by one, and as they did, Crowley slowly at his strawberries, but because of the cut on the back of his neck, it was irritating to do, but he WAS hungry, so he ate and the children were happy. "Okay, children, I think we should let Mr. Crowley rest." Lily's father said.

"AWE!" The children said right as Aziraphale walked through the door with a long sleeved, blue buttoned up shirt, his normal pants and shoes, and a dark blue tartan bow-tie that was definitely not tied correctly, which concerned Crowley a lot, because he could see that it wasn't tightened, the bow was askew, and one side was bigger than the other.

"You can come visit me some other time, okay? My friend is here, and he's also very worried about me, too, okay?"

"Okay!" They all sighed their disappointment, but obediently left with their parents.

Once they were gone, Aziraphale rushed towards Crowley and sat on the bed with tears in his eyes. "Aziraphale, what's wrong?"

"D-D-Don't..." He had take in a breath as he wiped his tears. "...Don't ever ask me to leave again, p-p-please."

"What? Why?"

"Every step I took as I walked away ACHED and then when I removed my clothes to put on new ones, I looked at the coat on the ground drenched in your blood and I collapsed and cried. I don't know why...but...I imagined...what would've happened if the Ambulance got to us too late. They almost did. You lost a lot of blood, and...I couldn't tie my bow-tie anymore...I just..." He whimpered, but took in a shuddering breath as Crowley reached his hands up, wincing at the pain, and was stopped by Aziraphale's gentle hand. "...please don't strain yourself."

"If it's...for you...Aziraphale..." He grunted as he tried to scoot his body closer, so that he could reach easier. When he finally got his thumbs to gently wipe away the tears, he began fixing the bow-tie. "If it's for you, Aziraphale, it's not a strain. Never has been. Now..." He took off the bow-tie entirely, causing Aziraphale to gasp, but then Aziraphale realized what Crowley doing and calmed down while he allowed Crowley to tie it. "You hate it when the sides are uneven. Even when you got ME to wear a bow-tie I had it half a centimeter uneven and you had to fix my tie twice."

"Why twice?"

"Because I moved it slightly just to mess with you." Crowley smirked.

"You fiend." Aziraphale muttered through the tears.

"Yup, that's what you told me then, as well."

"Where were we going?"

"January 22nd, 1920, we went to go see a play called Medorah."

"I...I remember seeing that play, but...I don't remember you."

"Yeah, I'm the reason for that, and partially God, but if you don't mind, I would rather not explain that until you know the full...or at least somewhat full history that we have."

"An angel and a demon...if what you say is true...we couldn't have had THAT much history."

"I dunno..." Crowley chuckled. "...six thousand years is a long time to NOT have history, and we do...have history. There, that should be better. All of the lines are as lined up as they can be."

"How...How do you know that's how I like my bow-ties?" He asked as he watched Crowley's fingers slipping away and then dropping to the bed along with Crowley himself. "Crowley!"

Crowley heard him and opened his eyes. "Oh...when...when did I lay down again?" He asked, feeling slightly guilty. He tried to get up, but Aziraphale pushed him back down. "Aziraphale." He huffed out. "I can't just fall asleep in the middle of talking. It's rude. You've told me so." He couldn't keep his eyes open, but he wished he could. "Angel...I'm sorry..." Without warning, his consciousness left him.


	3. Revelation

_**Aziraphale's POV JUST after Crowley slipped into unconsciousness.** _

"Crowley?" Aziraphale asked as he tentatively placed a hand on Crowley's shoulder. "Dear Boy, please wake up and tell me what you're sorry for."

"I don't think that's going to work." Came a familiar, but not so familiar voice. Aziraphale turned around to see Anathema. "Erm...Yvette...told me that Crowley was in the hospital. Ironic that he almost sent me to the hospital himself, but something didn't feel right after being told that."

"He almost sent you to the hospital!?" Aziraphale found Anathema's new expression rather strange.

"You should know...you were there. You even helped me get my bike onto the bike rack of his Bentley."

"M-My Dear Girl, you must be mistaken...he owns a 1967 Chevy Impala...not a Bentley. Even if a Bentley would suit him better...it's what he owns."

"Aziraphale, my Dad and Uncle were mechanics, I know what car he had, and I would think I know what car broke my wrist before you fixed it with a miracle."

"I...I don't remember any of this."

"Oh...that's what she meant..." Anathema muttered. "...Yvette said that things might be a bit complicated, but I promise...that's what happened. What...What do you remember about the end of the world that didn't happen?"

"I...I remember watching over a boy for eleven years, then...I don't know where I was, but I was sitting down when I realized he wasn't the right Antichrist. I...I came back and...it's...why is it so fuzzy? I was scared. No...that's not quite right. I was terrified, but not...of the end of the world. I was stopped...a few times, but I can't remember who stopped me. I tried to contact God, but it didn't work and then I accidentally got discorporated. I found a globe in Heaven, I touched it and...I remember talking to someone, but I don't remember who. It was important. It was like...they were..." He swallowed a hard lump in his throat as he looked down at Crowley. "...it was like they were the only person that I could trust. The person that knew me best."

"Uh-huh...and after that?"

"I..." He began with a shuddering breath as he slowly looked at Crowley's wounds, looking at every single one of them, cataloging every wound...big or small, and it made his heart ache as a slow realization came to him. "...I told them where the Antichrist was...and then I found Madam Tracey. After that, we traveled with Shadwell to the base, and...and the person I told where the Antichrist was showed up and...I was relieved. Eventually Gabriel and Beelzebub showed up and they weren't happy. I tried to use the Ineffable Plan theory to make them leave Adam alone...and the being I trusted...helped...but I don't remember him there."

"Now it's a HIM? Not a THEM?" Anathema asked carefully.

"I-It's a HIM...or...HIM shaped."

"I'm not even going to ask, but continue."

"Satan was coming, the Earth was shaking, He...the being I trusted...was pulled to the ground, and...He was about to give up. I told him...we couldn't give up. I told him to come up with something or...and I never finished it, because he...stopped...time. Not just for the moment, but for the whole world and all of existence. That shouldn't have been able to happen, but he made it happen, and I was too focused on Adam to care at the moment. After that, we...we went to your place...and we talked. You wanted to know more about us, we told you the truth...then it was getting late and we needed to get back. I still...I still had Agnes Nutter's prophecy in my coat pocket. It involved me and him and...we...he...I..."

"Aziraphale?" Anathema asked as she put her hand on Aziraphale, but Aziraphale wasn't paying attention as his vision was flooded with tears while he continued to look at every single wound.

"We...We were going to...HE was going to..." He tried to speak through the sobs that wanted to come out and were very close to coming out. "...We switched bodies. He...He went to Heaven for me and stood in Hellfire while I...I went to Hell and bathed in Holy Water for him. We tricked them, we celebrated, he dropped me off at the bookshop, and then...I...I don't remember much, but a weird sense that things weren't normal and then I noticed a plant nursery. I-In my mind I had always noticed the plant nursery, but something...wasn't right. I had seen...Yvette and Sam out there, but I never had the URGE to go speak with them. I saw Crowley out there...and...the wrongness...left. Like a sigh that leaves you after a long day of stress. I...I think...I think he was the being I was with during Armageddon, and if what you're saying is true...about him hitting you with his car and me being there...then..."

"He WAS there." She confirmed.

"B-But...that would mean..." His lip wobbled as he hesitantly moved his shaking hands to the least injured part of Crowley's arm. He then slowly brought a hand to his bow-tie. "...that would mean he wasn't lying. He's...He's not just guessing, or...or...being just an incredibly imaginative human."

A sound chimed behind Aziraphale, but he didn't care, because at the moment, all he cared about was everything Crowley had said so far, because what he said before passing out...and the feeling he felt when he left...Didn't align with how he might feel to a human he had just met. Everything inside his body ached, and screamed at him to not leave. To protect. To guard. To make sure no one would hurt him, and there were happy and hyper children bouncing up and down. When he took off the coat it felt like he was taking Crowley off of him. It felt like ripping his heart in half by his own hand, and when he saw the blood for a third time since he took the coat off...his heart began to slowly deteriorate from the crushing pressure of heartache. He put a miracle over him so no one would see, and he FLEW to the hospital, because his heart demanded it. When he walked in the room once more...his heart felt so whole in an instant, he thought he would collapse and cry, but he no Earthly idea why.

Soon, his brain reminded him that Anathema was still there and her phone went off. "D-Did someone text you?"

"Yeah, it was Newt...he's waiting outside, but..."

"Go to him, Dear Girl. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I think...I think I need to be alone with him...even if he's unconscious."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thank you." Once she was gone, Aziraphale miracled the door to a miracle similar to the one that was on his bookshop door. Only those who truly enjoyed books could enter Aziraphale's shop. This one was for only those that truly cared for Crowley, nurses and doctors could enter, because they had to. "Crowley...why have I forgotten? WHAT have I forgotten? Why are you sorry?" He asked the sleeping man, who apparently used to be a demon that he trusted a great deal.

After a few hours and some fiddling with his ring, he looked down at his ring with a furrowed brow, because he still remembered exactly who gave him the ring.

* * *

**_Heaven: BEFORE The Great Rebellion (A flashback if you will)_ **

_Aziraphale had been sparring with the angels, one by one, until after twenty rounds, he was labeled the victor until someone challenged him again. "I'll challenge you." A voice said, and as Aziraphale looked back to this flashback, he found that the voice eerily resembled Crowley, and the being, when past Aziraphale turned around to see who spoke, LOOKED like the Crowley he was watching over in the hospital bed, but with long hair, fuller muscles, and six wings that shot out from his back without any effort._

_"You'll challenge me?" Aziraphale asked as he wielded his sword with a smirk. "A Seraphim? I'm many ranks weaker than you. I'm hardly a challenge, but I wouldn't mind testing myself against a Seraphim. What's your name?"_

_"My name is Raphael." After the name, Raphael used his staff without warning, which caused Aziraphale to have to dodge. When he blocked the next attack, he noted the shock on Raphael's face. "You actually blocked me. Very good! No one, but God Herself has been able to block me!"_

_"You've face GOD!?" He asked as he spun out of his own block to lung forward, and when he did, he felt pleased with himself when he saw the tear in the robe and golden blood beginning to soak at his side. Neither noticed how the angels had long left the sparring room, leaving them both alone._

_"I have!" Raphael shouted in pain, but soon began to hold his side._

_"Did...Did I cut too deep?"_

_"Yes, but that's VERY good. Well done, Aziraphale."_

_"You...You know my name?"_

_"Of course I do." He chuckled despite the now intense bleeding. "You're an incredible fighter, and I've seen you fly. I wanted to meet you, I have, and you're just as impressive up close, if not more. Now...have you learned how to heal?"_

_"Y-Yes." He stuttered out. "But...it's considered imperfect."_

_"Why?" Raphael said with a furrowed brow._

_"Because...it always leaves a golden scar."_

_Raphael smiled and nodded at him. "Would it be too forward of me to ask...for you to leave your mark on me? To mark me as yours?"_

_"Are you...infatuated with me?"_

_"Horribly so, I'm afraid. Go on, heal me. I'll be perfectly imperfect. If you'd rather someone else to do it. I understand. I did fall in love with at first sight, which was when you were in a garden looking at the plants I had grown. You didn't notice me, but I noticed you."_

_"I...I think I might be in love with you, too." Aziraphale said while he lifted his left wing over Raphael's body._

_Raphael looked up at it in awe and scooted closer to Aziraphale with a wide smile on his face. He then struggled to get his arms out of the rob sleeves, and then to slide the robe down to his hips to reveal the deep cut on his left side. "Mark me as yours, Aziraphale."_

_Aziraphale nodded and placed his hands on the wound, healing it, and as it healed, it left a thick golden scar. "Y-You're healed...and mine."_

_"I'm healed..." He said as he took Aziraphale's hand in his. "...and yours. For all of eternity. One day...I'll give you a symbol to show my affection. Something you can wear always. Something no other angel will have."_

_Months after that, Raphael came running towards Aziraphale, who had just landed in a garden after a nice day of flying. "Oh, Hello, Raphael."_

_"Hello, Aziraphale. I've brought you that symbol I told you about. I just told God that I was on my way to you with it. Here." He held out a golden ring and gently took Aziraphale's right hand, and slipped it on the pinky finger. "Oh...I guess...I guess it should've gone on the actual ring finger, yes? I mean...God called them ring fingers, and I guess...I should've put two and two together so..."_

_"Did...Did you make this yourself?"_

_"Yes!" He said proudly. "I...I made it far different from any other ring in Heaven. When I forged it, I put a piece of my grace, blood, and one of my primaries in the liquid gold. It all melted, but the power and grace they hold is still there. It will always be there, and-"_

_"HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR GRACE IN-"_

_Raphael smiled at him thoughtfully before he held his hands together in front of his core, and soon there was something glowing in his hands. "This...is how I make stars. God...She created me with UNLIMITED grace. It will ALWAYS replete itself after it's been taken away. She wanted me to create with her. We're to create MANY things. My Grace is like hers. It'll never run out no matter what. Not that anyone else's grace DOES run out, but I don't have to watch myself when I use my powers. I don't get tired from using my powers all the time. I...I know it might not seem like it means much anymore now that you know my grace is unlimited...but it holds my blood and my primary in there, too. You're the only one in Heaven with a ring like that."_

_"It's...why Gold?" Aziraphale said as he still tried to process what was given to him._

_Raphael chuckled warmly before he slid his robes down to reveal the golden scar that remained. "I talked to God...and told her what happened. Told her it was a GREAT sparring match, and that you healed me afterwards. I asked her to make the scar permanent and to never heal, even by her hand. She asked me why, and I said as a reminder. I don't think she knew what I meant until just a few minutes ago, but she did it. It'll always stay no matter what. Gold for Gold. I told her...before coming here, 'Mother, an Alpha chose me, and they're the most beautiful being I had ever seen!' She wanted to know more, but I was honestly to excited to tell her more, and I left with a good bye and came here. I will treasure this scar...always."_

**_End of Flashback._ **

* * *

Aziraphale looked at Crowley's side and took in a deep breath. "I-If you really WERE Raphael..." He moved the hospital gown just enough until he could see what he was looking for. When he found the familiar golden scar, he stood up and practically ran backwards as he continued to stare at Crowley until he fell on his butt onto the floor with the chair clattering down with him.

After a few moments of just merely staring at Crowley, Aziraphale swallowed a lump in his throat and moved the chair back to Crowley's bedside, and he lifted Crowley's hospital gown once again. "It's there." He whispered as tears ran like waterfalls down his face. "R-Raphael..." He whimpered out as he reached out his right hand to the golden scar. "...gold for gold..." He muttered before slowly taking off the ring. "...I wonder..." He said as he looked at both golds. He wondered if since the scar was made of his healing gold before he figured out how NOT to do that, and it was essentially a part of him just like the ring was a part of Raphael...if he touched them, he wondered if something would be revealed.

When he pressed his ring against the golden scar, his eyes forced themselves shut as a vision immediately flooded his mind. He was standing on the wall of Eden, fiddling with his ring out of nervousness, and then a snake slithered up the wall calmly as can be. Soon, it morphed into EXACTLY what Crowley looked like, but with slightly longer hair, black robes, two black wings, and GORGEOUS yellow eyes.

_"Well, that went down like a lead balloon."_

_Aziraphale nodded, but soon realized that the demon didn't kill him even though he should've. 'How strange...' Aziraphale's thoughts stated. "I'm sorry, what was that?"_

_The demon looked at him with a slight open mouth smirk as he said, "I said, 'Well that went down like a lead balloon.'"_

_"Yes, Yes it did, rather."_

_"Bit of an overreaction if you ask me. First offense and everything." The demon said as if he truly was confused and if the look on his face said anything, a bit guilt. "I can't see what's so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil anyway."_

_"Well it must BE bad...uh..." Aziraphale drawled out, waiting for a name._

_"Crawley!"_

_"Crawley..." He repeated. "...otherwise...you wouldn't have tempted them into it."_

_"Oh...well they just said get up there and make some trouble."_

_"Well, obviously. You're a demon. It's what you do."_

_"Not very subtle of the Almighty, though. Fruit tree in the middle of the Garden with a 'don't touch' sign. I mean...why not put it on top of a high mountain? Or on the Moon? Makes you wonder what God's really planning."_

_"Best not to speculate." Aziraphale said in annoyance. "It's all part of the Great Plan. It's not for us to understand. It's ineffable."_

_"The Great Plan's ineffable?"_

_"Exactly." He said proudly. "...It is beyond understanding...and incapable of being put into words."_

_"Didn't you have a flaming sword?" Crawley asked as he looked down at Aziraphale's hands._

_"Uh..."_

_"You did! It was flaming like anything. What happened to it?"_

_"Uh..."_

_"Lost it already, have you?"_

_"I gave it away." Aziraphale muttered as he tried not to make eye contact._

_"You WHAT!?" He shouted in disbelief._

_"I gave it AWAY!" He cried out in both annoyance and slight anguish. "There are vicious animals. It's going to be cold out there and she's expecting already, and I said 'Here you go. Flaming Sword. Don't thank me. And don't let the sun go down on you here.'" He fiddle with his ring some more and looked out to the open as Adam and Eve continued to walk further away from Eden. "I do hope I didn't do the wrong thing."_

_"Oh...you're an angel. I don't think you CAN do the wrong thing."_

_"Oh! Oh! Thank-Oh Thank you. It's been bothering me." Aziraphale said, not registering sarcasm yet, but appreciated it all the same._

_"I've been worrying too. What if I did the right thing with the whole eat the apple business. A demon can get into a lot of trouble for doing the right thing...Be funny if we both got it wrong, eh? If I did the good thing and you did the bad one."_

_He nodded briefly and chuckled nervously, but soon realized what the demon had said. "No! It wouldn't be funny at all!"_

_"Oh...well..." Crawley was interrupted by a thunder clap, rainfall, and then Aziraphale lifted his left wing over Crawley. Crawley looked up and stepped closer towards Aziraphale._

The vision ended, and he opened his eyes, gasping for breath before he quickly put the ring back on. "That's...That's what Crowley described! That was HIM! In EDEN! I...I remember it now...but why do I still not remember anything else?" He tried to press the ring to the golden wound once again, but received nothing. "Raphael...you turned into a demon..." Aziraphale whimpered out as he put the ring back on once again. "...and then..." He placed a careful hand over some of the cuts on Crowley's arm. "...and then you became human. What happened? Something had to have happened RIGHT AFTER Armageddon. I...I don't know what it was...but I..." He bit back the tears that wanted to fall while he wiped away the ones that had. "...I'll...I'll take care of you. I...I don't know anything about you...this you...or even the demon you...but I'll try."


	4. Remember

_**Crowley's POV One Week Later** _

Crowley woke up with a groan, but he felt better than he did the first time he woke up in the hospital. He looked at his arms that no longer stung, and was shocked to see that there were fresh SCARS, not WOUNDS, but scars OF the wounds he had. He looked to his left and saw Aziraphale reading a book that he has read over and over and over again. Crowley didn't know where it came from, but he groaned out, "You're reading that Oscar Wilde book, again!"

"What do you mean 'Again'?" Aziraphale asked without taking his eyes off the book.

"You've read that book a thousand times. Not...Not that you remember me knowing that." Crowley sighed before he shook his head. "Sorry...that was rude."

Crowley saw a smiled grow on Aziraphale's face as the angel looked up with a sly look in his eyes before he replied, "To quote Oscar Wilde, 'If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading at all.' Don't you think?"

"Hmm...I'd have to agree. I've read my Astronomy book more times than I care to count. So, how long was I out this time and why are my cuts healed?"

"I um...you were out for a week."

"And you've been here the whole time?"

"Yes."

"Have you eaten?"

"No."

"Why not!?"

Aziraphale closed his Oscar Wilde book, which sent alarm bells going off in Crowley's mind like it usually did if Aziraphale EVER closed an Oscar Wilde book in the middle of a conversation. "Because you weren't there, Crowley. It...when I tried...even to just eat a simple sandwich that the nice nurse offered me, I couldn't. I tried to take a bite and it...well, it didn't taste good, but it also tasted wrong, because you weren't awake. I don't know why it felt wrong, but I'm sure someday you'll tell me."

"Okay, and why are my wounds healed?" He asked once more as he touched his hand to the back of his neck, only to find that it, too, had healed with a scar.

"I'll tell you...if you tell me how you ended up with that golden scar on your side."

Crowley grumbled in agitation as he lifted his hospital gown to look at it. "That one?"

"Yes, the only golden scar on your body, Crowley."

Crowley smirked at him with a singularly risen brow. "How do you know it's the only one?"

Aziraphale rolled his eyes with a huff of annoyance, which brought Crowley a sense of normal he didn't know he was hoping for. "Answer me, Crowley."

"I don't remember." He stated as he dropped the hospital gown. "All I know is that I had it in Heaven and...this will sound foolish, but...It's precious to me."

"What do you mean?" Aziraphale asked in what seemed to be a hurt manner.

"Which part?"

"B-Both. You don't remember and...It's precious."

"Well, when I got to Hell, I was disoriented and I didn't remember much about Heaven...just the basics and things that involved Lucifer. Oh, and the fact that I made the stars...and...what I was meant to do for the humans, but...anyway...Lucifer named me a Prince of Hell, pissing off a bunch of other demons, AND myself. I never showed up in any of the human books about demons, because I didn't want to, but that was WAY later...SO, to continue...the Princes were given their own rooms. When I got to mine I felt something...Holy. It stung...burned almost, but...I can't explain it. It was almost as if it was protecting me. It...when I landed...in Hell...I really do remember burning. My skin...it was melting, blistered, and horrendous, but while I was in my room...the scar...it...it was almost as if it was alive somehow. As if...whoever gave me this scar...cared for me so much that their...I guess...Healing intent...continued on through the scar."

"How do you know it was with healing intent?"

"Because...I just KNEW. I didn't know how I knew, but I did. It was...strange. Anyway, it was like it had a heartbeat and it would pulse. With every pulse...I was healed until I was completely flawless...except for the scar. Instead of my wings being bony and barely-there-wings...the scar healed my wings. I was only left with two, but that was okay. I was happy with two wings. Most demons only had one or none at all. I...I think I was the only one in Hell, aside from Lucifer, that had at least one set of wings...but yeah. Then, after being top-side...on Earth...for centuries on end, I realized that the scar would pulse in a different way. It would be quick paced, almost panicked, and usually another demon would appear. It...It warned me when other demons would appear, or when they were getting close. The faster the pulse, the closer they were."

"You don't remember then...just like I don't remember the demonic you."

Crowley sat up with widened eyes as he also remembered the conversation he had with Yvette before ending up in the hospital. "Did...Did you know me in Heaven?"

"We knew each other rather well." Aziraphale sighed out.

"Wait...so...why don't I remember? I would definitely remember you and...wait...so you believe me?"

"Well..." Aziraphale chuckled wetly through the tears that began to fall, but he tried his best to hold them back. "...it's kind of hard NOT to believe you since I'm the one who cut you there in a sparring match...and healed you after. I cut you too deep and you were bleeding...fast. You asked me if I knew how to heal, I said that I did, but it was considered imperfect. You told me to put my mark on you. To make you mine. You confessed that you loved me the second you saw me in a garden that you had made. That I didn't notice you, but you noticed me. I can't explain it, I don't believe anyone can, but as soon as I saw you entering the sparring room, I fell in love, too. While you were on the ground, I told you that, and I raised my left wing over you. You scooted closer, smiling bigger than I had seen any angel smile, let alone a Seraphim. I chose you and you accepted in that moment. I healed you...and when I did...I thought, 'I will protect and be with you always. When I cannot be near you, my mark will be with you. My mark will heal you as I would if I am not to be there for you. Take me. I give myself to you. I put myself into this mark. For the first time ever...this mark MEANS something.' I...I guess it took a bit of a literal turn, didn't it, Dear?"

Crowley huffed out a laugh of disbelief as he felt his own heart swell. "Is...Is that true?"

"It is."

"And..." Crowley sat up straighter and hesitantly grabbed Aziraphale's right hand. "D-Did I...?"

Aziraphale allowed Crowley to take his hand with a smile and nodded his head. "You did. You made this yourself. It holds three pieces of you inside it. You forged it yourself."

"That must've been why and how I was always able to find you and...know where you were at all times! I even knew when you were in Heaven. I...but wait...why do you believe me? You shouldn't believe me. Is...Is it because of the scar?"

"Somewhat, yes. It was certainly proof to your claim of having been Raphael before...in Heaven. You...when you gave me this ring...you said you put your grace, blood, and one of your-"

"-Primaries."

Aziraphale looked up from his hand and into Crowley's eyes, and he gasped when he looked long and hard at them. "I...I should've noticed...your eyes are exactly his!"

"When I fell, I also noticed one of my Primaries were missing. Just one, but I thought it was lost in the fall, but..."

"No, it's in the ring. You're really and truly...You're really..." Aziraphale choked out a sob before he DROPPED his Oscar Wilde book so that he could wrap his arms and wings around Crowley, who quickly noticed a 'Do-not-enter' miracle being placed on the entire room. "Raphael! MY Raphael!"

As soon as Aziraphale called out his old name, Crowley cried out in pain and violently arched his back, which caused Aziraphale to jump off in alarm. As much as he wanted to call the angel back to him, he couldn't, because at the moment, visions were rushing into his mind. A life he had forgotten. A love he had lost. A love he had in Heaven. He saw visions of him and Aziraphale sparring, a vision of exactly what he described, and of time spent together. Finally, he witnessed the vision of him giving Aziraphale the ring that has always rested on his pinky, because he was too excited to put it anywhere else. When the visions stopped, he felt dizzy and his entire body ached from being arched for so long, but to him, it was worth it. "Oh..."

"What...What happened?"

"I remember. I...I even showed you that my grace was limitless and that I used my grace to make stars! I said...for the scar. Gold for Gold." He turned to Aziraphale and smiled through the tears. "I remember."

"YES! You do, but the question is...why did you forget?"

"I think...it might be because I willingly went to Hell. I actively abandoned you. Aziraphale...I'm so sorry!"

"Shh...don't be sorry. You had no way of-"

"-I shouldn't have left you!" Crowley shouted. "I..." He began softer as his body began to tremble. "...I should've never left you."

"Well...If you hadn't, I don't think I would've been able to be so reassured on the Eastern Wall of Eden when you said that I was an angel, and that you didn't think I COULD do the wrong thing."

Crowley's heart pounded hard against his chest. "I...I didn't tell you that. I said we talked. I didn't tell you that. How do you know that?"

"You're not the only one that remembers, My Dear." He smiled softly. "I may not remember six thousand years, but I do remember you slithering up the wall, morphing into a more human-like form. Scarlet hair that hung in ringlets and waves, yellow serpentine eyes the color of sunflower petals, and two large black wings that opened behind you as you got settled. Your robe was pitch black and we were both bare foot as we watched Adam and Eve walk away from Eden. Adam slayed a lion with my sword, and you didn't look happy about it either."

"You...You remember!?" Crowley asked in astonishment. "But...h-how much!?"

"Just that, I'm afraid. It's strange...you told me about it and...I WAS curious about that Gold for Gold thing you had said to me once all that time ago, so I took my ring off and I touched it to your golden scar. It was as if the memory was allowed, because you told me about it, and then our...our gold...since they're a part of us...remembered it, too. I don't know. It's all a bit strange, but that seems...almost too easy."

"Yes, it is, and even if it did work from story telling, Angel, that's SIX THOUSAND YEARS. I can tell you times we spent together, but It'll take me at LEAST TWO thousand years to tell you everything and...well...I'm human. I don't have that kind of...Aziraphale? Aziraphale!? Why do you look so pale and scared? What's wrong?"

"Y-You're human...I mean...I knew...I registered it. I was sad about it, but...I...I guess...the...very mortal aspect of it...the LIMITED aspect of it...hadn't hit me until now. I...I just got you back...and I'm going to lose you."

"Well..." Crowley sighed as he looked out his open hospital window, feeling envious for the birds with their wings, because it looked like a beautiful day for a flight. "...I guess..." He continued as he turned back to face Aziraphale with a sad smile. "...I'll have to love you until my last breath."

Pure Heartache was the expression Crowley saw appear on Aziraphale's face, and he never liked it. He RARELY saw it, but he never liked it. "Please...Please d-don't say that. I..."

"Angel..." Crowley breathed out as he took Aziraphale's hands in his, gently rubbing a finger against the golden ring. "...I lived a good and LONG life. I loved you in Heaven and...and I love you now."

"Th-That's easy for you to say! You had six thousand years with me, and I don't even remember it, and..."

"...and you don't know this me, or the human me, but isn't that incredible? Aziraphale, at your age, there's still something new. ME! I'm new. Right here and now, you can learn about me all over again in a different light. I'm...I'm definitely different from who I was in Heaven, I think."

"Well..." Aziraphale smiled. "...the style we wore back then is certainly outdated."

"Ah, and you would know with that coat of yours. Still...sorry for getting blood on it."

"Is that what you were sorry for last week?"

"Hmm?" He asked with a tilt of his head in confusion.

"You said sorry before falling back asleep...just after adjusting my bow-tie."

"Oh...yeah...I was saying sorry for you not remembering. It's...complicated, and I can't tell you about it without telling you about the past we shared, but maybe...we can also create some new memories?"

"Yes, after you're out of the hospital."

"Uh-huh, and now that I've told you about the scar and I remembered that we...that we...were Mates in Heaven. How about you tell me why my cuts are healed." It wasn't a question and both knew it.

"Right, I may have...after seeing the scar...and after crying tears of both pain and joy...I...I may have..."

"You healed me, didn't you?"

"Yes." Aziraphale nodded quickly. "It...realizing you really were telling the truth...I couldn't see you in pain any longer."

"What have the doctors said about my recovery?"

"I...been...them...here." Crowley heard him mutter, but he watched the angel's mouth move so he knew there was more to be said.

"What was that?"

"I haven't been letting them in here!" Aziraphale cried out in much the same way he did about giving away his flaming sword.

"YOU WHAT!? Aziraphale, the nurses and doctors...I'm HUMAN, Aziraphale!"

"And I'm an angel! A Cherubim! You're my Mate!"

At the word Mate, Crowley saw Aziraphale's eyes do something he had never seen before. Not even from his memories in Heaven. He watched Aziraphale's grace bleed through. It lit up his veins, making him look like a glowing and intricately wired being, which he was, but normally it wasn't VISIBLE, and his eyes began to glow an electric blue. Crowley did the only thing he knew how to do when Aziraphale was overwhelmed. He got up from his bed, not caring that he was still basically naked underneath his hospital gown that wasn't tied in the back, and he wrapped his arms around Aziraphale. He then took a deep breath before speaking in the most ancient form of Enochian he knew, _"Calm, My Aziraphale. I Am Here With You. I Am Yours And You Are Mine."_ Soon, the glowing stopped, and Aziraphale sighed into his arms. When Crowley felt the coast was clear, and no one was going to be the victim to a wrathful Cherubim, Crowley stepped back and sat back on the bed.

When Aziraphale opened his eyes, he gasped as he seemed to realize what just happened. "Oh my...that's...that's never happened before...has it?"

"No. I've never seen you like that, or anyone for that matter, but I think you may have gotten a bit...possessive and protective over me."

"I'd hardly call that 'a bit', Dear. Are you all right? I didn't...I didn't hurt you, did I? When you held me?"

"No, you didn't hurt me at all."

"You...You spoke to me in Enochian. The most ancient one. Human mouths aren't even supposed to come up with those syllables."

"Old habits, I suppose. So, in order for me to leave this hospital...since I'm healed...is to see a doctor. Will you please let them in?"

"Fine, but if they hurt you..."

"Then it'll be an accident. I'll be fine, Aziraphale." Aziraphale hesitated, but eventually he released the miracle off of the room, and soon, doctors came pouring in with apologies as they checked Crowley's vitals, his wounds, and it was an endless echo of 'miraculous recovery', which caused both Aziraphale and Crowley to bite their tongues or they'd both bellow out in laughter.

Eventually Crowley was allowed to leave, but there was a slight problem. He had no clothes. "Um...right...what happened to my clothes that I had?"

"They were bloody and torn up. Yvette took them and said she would sew them back up or get you new ones. I...I can miracle you up some clothes if you like."

"If you don't mind. I don't really fancy taking a stroll in a hospital gown." He watched as Aziraphale snapped his fingers, and he instantly felt clothed. He looked at his clothing and found that he was wearing what he wore when he went to collapse on his bed just before God wanted to talk to him. "Uh...Aziraphale?"

"My goodness...that is not what I thought at all!"

"What did you think?"

"NOT THAT, for starters. I just...I thought, 'Something familiar.' Then, that appears on you."

"Well...the miracle wasn't wrong. I dressed like this for a good while. Since falling, the dress code shifted to dark colors...like black. To much...brightness...and you were either questioned...or stalked. So, not wanting either, I dressed as dark as possible. So, what do you say to getting out of here? Tempt you to a spot of lunch?"

"Temptation accomplished." Aziraphale smiled, and it only made Crowley's grin that much wider at the words and the expression.

When they left the hospital, neither expected to see what they saw waiting for them out in front of the hospital. "Hello..." Crowley said and the engine revved in delight.

"Did it just...respond to you?"

"Now, what brought you here?"

To Aziraphale's shock the car started to play a song all on its own, or rather, the middle of a song. _"When I'm not with you...I think of you always...(I miss those long hot summer nights)...I miss you...When I'm not with you...Think of me always...Love you, love you."_

"Awe..." Crowley smiled. "...I missed you, too, but that doesn't tell me how you got here."

Aziraphale quickly placed a miracle so that no one would notice Crowley and his Bentley having a conversation, and Crowley was grateful for it, because the next line the car gave had him doubled over laughing, _"...God knows, God knows, I want to break free!"_

"You BROKE OUT!?"

_"...I can't get used to living without, living without...Living without you by my side..."_

"That's sweet, but a lot's changed since last time."

_"...Can you believe it happens? Now it happens here...To a human human with a human body you see..."_

"Ah...so you know." Crowley sighed.

It seemed Aziraphale couldn't take it anymore, he walked up to Crowley with a confused expression as he looked at the Bentley. "How is it reacting to you? How is it...sentient?"

When the car revved, both Crowley and Aziraphale could've sworn it sounded like laughter. Then they heard, _"...It's a kind of magic, It's a kind of magic..."_

"Okay smart ass, perhaps you should stop. Now, you're just laughing at us." Crowley scolded with a huff and a roll of his eyes.

_"...Don't stop me now! I'm having such a good time! I'm having a ball!..."_

"Yup, walked right into that one. So, where should we go, Aziraphale?" Crowley asked as he opened the car door for Aziraphale.

 _"...Dining at the Ritz, we'll meet at nine precisely..."_ The car answered, and Crowley blushed as Aziraphale got into the car. Crowley closed Aziraphale's door, and slowly made his way over to his own door.

When Crowley got into the car, he realized he just couldn't miracle away a blush this time. He had to live with it. "You're blushing, Crowley." Aziraphale stated when Crowley closed his door.

"I know, Angel."

"Your...Bentley...is sentient. This is the car that you hit Anathema with?"

Crowley's eyes widened as he looked directly at Aziraphale now. "I didn't hit her. She hit me. She ran her bicycle into me. Besides, you fixed her wrist and put her bike on the bike rack that YOU miracled onto my Bentley."

"Yes, that does align with what she told me. Please, understand, Dear Boy, I don't remember that, but Anathema does. Clearly. I feel a bit foolish now. She was right. You DO have a Bentley."

"I do, and..." He let out a sigh before tapping the dash. "...Hey, beautiful..." The engine revved as if it was asking, 'Yes? What do you need?', and it allowed Crowley to feel another bout of normalcy. "I don't have the keys..."

"What do you mean...aren't they..." Aziraphale looked at the ignition and found there were no keys. "...HOW!?"

 _"It's a kind of magic..."_ The car played again.

"Yeah...I'm afraid the keys were taken away. Do you mind driving us?" The car revved and began to drive. "Speed limit this time." Crowley stated and the car screeched to a halt.

_"...I'm a racing car, passing by like Lady Godiva! I'm gonna go, go, go there's no stopping me..."_

"I know. We usually go fast, but I'm human now. I know you're an excellent driver, but I have to be careful now, which means so do you. Okay?"

_"...Too late, my time has come...Sends shivers down my spine. Body's aching all the time, goodbye everybody, I've got to go..."_

"Oh, don't be dramatic. Do you want me to get hurt?" The car made a grumbling noise that only cars could, and she continued to drive.

"Crowley...this...this is really your car. Did you make her sentient?"

"No, it was God. She said so. However, she also said the Bentley wouldn't work for me...which is strange. I'll have to-" Crowley stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed the wide-eyed and almost fearful look on Aziraphale's face. "Y-Y-You've been speaking to GOD!?"

"Yes." He nodded before turning to face the road, to look like he was paying attention.

"You...but...you were a demon!"

"Who else do you think has the power to change me from a demon and into a human, huh?"

"She...did this to you?" Aziraphale's voice sounded as if he were trying to hold back both rage and sorrow, but Crowley couldn't figure out which one was more intense.

"She did, but I...I chose this. SHIT! I didn't mean to tell you THIS SOON! I...there's a lot to explain behind it."

"Have I...have I seen her?"

"You've spoken to her, she's just in a different form. She also hid her voice by switching up how it sounds."

"Y...Yvette?" Aziraphale chanced.

"Yes." Crowley replied.

"Then who...who is the man that was supposedly your twin brother?"

"Oh...that part is true right down to the last atom and wisp of grace. God made us at the same time, and we just chose to look different. We're both glad we did. That's what he looked like in Heaven, but not many remember seeing him with a smile on his face that didn't resemble malice."

"Crowley, don't tell me he's..."

"He WAS, but...still kind of is? Eh...it's difficult to explain at the moment, but yeah. My twin brother was Lucifer. That's...He's why I left Heaven. I...I'm so sorry, Aziraphale. I...I should've never gone."

"I'm not sure that's entirely true, Dear Boy."

"You'll have to explain that one to me."

"After you explain everything you can to me. It'll take time, Crowley. So...I...God and Lucifer have really been occupying the same space and haven't killed each other?"

"No, he's not evil anymore. I mean...he has to put on a good front, because he still rules Hell and everything, but he's not bad anymore. He even tackle hugged me. He teased me when we went out on our date. I...I told him it wasn't a date, despite wanting it to be, and he kept telling me it was. I got flustered and embarrassed, and then it turned out it was. So, yeah."

"You were a demon, and you were perfectly okay with seeing her?"

"Of course I was. I never stopped loving Her. I was HAPPY to see her, but please, I don't want to say more about that until you know a little more about the six thousand years we spent together."

"Okay, can...can I just ask an...intimate question?"

"No, Aziraphale, we never had sex. We never even kissed. We've never even spoken the words 'I love you'."

"I-I-In SIX THOUSAND YEARS, we've never...I mean...I assumed you loved me...you said..."

"Yes. Since Eden, like I said, but...I never knew how you felt, and anytime I tried to get close...you'd push me away. I understood though. Heaven...wasn't kind to you, and I had suspected it was mostly out of worry for me. Well...especially after you gave me a thermos of Holy Water."

"I...I what?" Aziraphale whispered out.

"W-Well...um...sometime in the 1800's, I asked you for Holy Water, you told me you weren't going to bring me a suicide pill, I told you that's not what I wanted it for, we got into a fight, and we didn't see each other for nearly eighty years. It was 1941 when we saw each other again, you were trying to outwit some Nazi spies, you got double crossed, and I walked across the church floor, my feet scorched beyond belief, but you helped heal me. You couldn't do much, but you helped, and then...in the 60's, I was planning a heist. I was going to get Holy Water, and I wasn't going to ask you again, because it had upset you so badly. You apparently heard about it and so you brought me a thermos of Holy Water that you had either stolen from Heaven, or blessed yourself. I never figured out which, but-"

"-YOU...You were a demon and...and I gave you...I..."

"Aziraphale, it's okay. I used it, but-"

"-YOU USED IT!?"

"-I used it on another demon. I placed a trap and killed them."

"But...P-Please understand...I know who you WERE now. I know that you were Raphael, so please imagine for a moment...you say you loved me since Eden...imagine if you just handed me Hellfire? Hmm? How do you think you would live everyday?"

"I..." Crowley looked at the steering wheel as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "...I hadn't thought of it like that. I mean...even if I made it as safe as possible...if you so much as opened it...I'd...I'd never get you back, but...the you from then didn't realize that I was Raphael. I..."

"You...You never told me?"

"No. I never did. I...well...I say that you never realized it, but I don't know if you ever figured it out. If you did, you definitely never told me."

"R-Right. So...we've...we've never been intimate, but..."

"No, we weren't, Aziraphale, and I mean that in the relationship way as well. We weren't boyfriends. We were barely friends."

"Why would you spend time with me then?"

"Because I was in love with you. I'm still in love with you. It's just...I hadn't said it until I became human. I mean...I suppose I tried to say it with actions through the years, but I'm positive you never noticed. That's okay though. I...I remember what we had in Heaven now. I...I can't believe I forgot, and I'm never going to forgive myself for leaving, but..."

"...please forgive yourself, My Dear."

"Why?"

"Because...there had to be a reason why I lifted my wing over you on a wall in front of anyone who would look to Eden. Perhaps...through those six thousand years, I fell in love with you all over again, and six thousand years verses the amount of time we DID have together in Heaven...that's quite a lot of time to be in denial, and I'd like to think I'm smarter than that."

"I'd like to think so, too, but until you tell me otherwise...I'd rather not get ahead of myself. Right now...can you be honest and tell me that you love me as a human and not as who I was?"

"Well, that's the thing, Crowley. I knew you as Raphael once, and though I loved THAT you more than words can express...and I will ALWAYS love that version of you...I can feel myself loving this you as well. It's as if it was meant to be, but not by God's design. Instead...our own." The car parked at the Ritz in a LEGAL parking zone, but Crowley didn't say anything, so Aziraphale continued. "It's almost...as if we're on our own side." At his word both Crowley and Aziraphale hissed in pain. Crowley held his side where his golden scar lay, and Aziraphale held his ring. "What...is...going on!?" Aziraphale asked as he struggled to put a miracle on them so that no one would notice them.

"T-Touch...I think...you need to...touch your ring to my scar!" Crowley roared out.

"A-Are you sure?"

"I'm in fucking Agony, Aziraphale, I'm not...sure...about much else...at this point." Aziraphale nodded with a wince as he lifted Crowley's shirt just slightly so that he could press his ring against the scar. When he did, they were both thrown forward into the visions. The first one was the vision of Crowley giving Aziraphale the piece of paper that said Holy Water. After that, the vision of Crowley going through a church, onto consecrated ground for Aziraphale, rerouting a bomb to drop on a church as he trusted Aziraphale to place a miracle over them, Crowley protecting the bag of precious books and giving it to Aziraphale, unaware until watching the visions that Aziraphale was wearing an expression he only remembers in Heaven and after the world didn't end. Finally, it showed when Aziraphale gave him the Holy Water and told him that he moved too fast for him.

When they came out of the visions, both were breathing heavy at what they had just witnessed. Crowley remembers it of course, but there were certain parts where he didn't noticed Aziraphale's expression at the time. Such as 1941, where it looked like the angel realized something important. "That...I...I could FEEL how I felt back then! I...Crowley..."

"You could feel it?" Crowley asked once he was able to breathe again.

"YES! I could feel it. 1941...I realized...I was in love with you and have been since we met on the wall of Eden. I...I fell in love with you at first sight a second time, and then...a third time...while you were...are...human."

Crowley's heart was malfunctioning, because now his breathing wouldn't work, blood was in his ears, his face was feeling like Hellfire was licking at his cheeks and nose, and his heart was trying out for the demonic Olympics, despite him being very human at the moment. "You...You...l-l-loved...me? Back then? Are you sure? I-It could've just been-"

Aziraphale grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckles, robbing him of all speech. "I'm completely certain, My Love."

"NGK!" Crowley squeaked and suddenly, his heart was working with his lungs to stop all proper functions. He was feeling faint, and though he loved the humans very much, this was the part he didn't love at all. He felt consciousness leaving him as his heart stuttered practically to a stop, because Aziraphale not only called him 'My Love', but Aziraphale...KISSED...his knuckles.

As consciousness left him once again, which he was really getting tired of being a habit, because he was hungry damn it, but as consciousness left him, he heard Aziraphale cry out his name, and then he vaguely heard Aziraphale talking to the Bentley, followed by the brief sound of tires squealing. Everything soon went black.


	5. What's Happening!?

_**Aziraphale's POV as Crowley was passing out...again** _

"CROWLEY!" Aziraphale cried out. When Crowley started to slump forward, Aziraphale miracled him into the back seat so he could lay down, and then he looked at the steering wheel that he now sat behind. "Take us to God! Crowley's hurt!" The tires began to squeak and cry out underneath the Bentley, before he felt something undeniably holy about it, and soon, he found himself in Heaven, in a Bentley, with a passed out Crowley, and he was next to God and Gabriel.

"Well...that's quite the entrance, Aziraphale, but-"

Aziraphale got out of the vehicle and glared at Gabriel. "Do be quiet for once, Gabriel!" He then made his way over to God and let out a heavy sigh. "God, I know it's terribly rude of me to interrupt whatever conversation you were having, but-"

"THEN LEAVE AZIRA-MPHF!" Aziraphale waved his hand and Gabriel's mouth was miracled shut.

"-but it's Crowley. He keeps passing out, and...there's been...some...developments. I...I remember some things, and I wager I'm not meant to."

"No..." She said with a furrowed brow. "...you are not. Does he happen to remember anything?"

"Yes. He remembers Heaven...completely. When he and I had each other. God, I don't know what's going on, but I know you're involved, and I'm sorry to say this, but I won't let even you hurt him. He NEEDS to eat, and you know this, but he can't if he keeps passing out!"

God nodded her head and looked at Gabriel to remove the miracle. "When I am on Earth, no one is to disturb me. When Aziraphale comes to Heaven..." She said as she gave the look of a promise rather than a warning. "...NO ONE is to harm, belittle, or harass him. Is that understood?"

"Y-Yes, Almighty." Gabriel stuttered out in confusion, but it was very clear that he wouldn't question what she might do.

"Good. Come on, Aziraphale. I believe you and I have a LONG conversation ahead of us."

"I think so, too." He nodded and opened the door for her. She got in, and the Bentley took them back to Earth and in front of the nursery that Crowley was working at.

"Get him inside the house and into his room." She said as she waved a hand to him, giving him the knowledge and layout of the entire house.

As Aziraphale was carrying Crowley out of the car he couldn't help but notice three things. One, he was lighter than he was when he passed out against him the first time. Two, his skin was paler. Three, his heartbeat was far faster than a human's heartbeat would be. As he was about to take him inside, he was stopped by who, he now believed, to be Lucifer. "What's wrong with Anthony!?" He asked desperately as he ran down the sidewalk towards them.

"Sam..." God tried to calm him down.

"NO! I can feel it! Something is VERY wrong! He's..."

"SAM! Not another word. I'll take care of it. Close the shop for today, but stay and look after the plants."

"O-Okay..." He nodded as he hesitantly went into the nursery.

"Inside, Aziraphale." She commanded, and so he went with a heavy heart. Once he was in Crowley's room, he laid Crowley on the bed as gently as he could before sitting next to Crowley. He then let out all of his wings, and since he was a Cherub now, he had four. The left set was draped over Crowley's body protectively while Aziraphale glared at God. "You're angry with me."

"What gave it away?" Aziraphale said impatiently. "I come to you for help, and you CONFIRM I wasn't meant to remember him. You CONFIRM that you did something to him! to me! To US! Not only that, but you...disguised yourself as Yvette and Sam is actually Lucifer. Now, I may be a bit of an old fool, but last I checked, the two of you weren't on speaking terms, as it were."

"That was...That was before the end of the world that DIDN'T happen."

"WHAT HAPPENED TO US!? You know me, God. I haven't asked for much except for answers, but even then, it wasn't often. Answer me. Now I'm involved and I'm owed an answer after I have to watch him suffer."

"He's dying." She answered sadly. "The reasons why the doctors didn't catch it, is because there aren't many humans that used to be angels or demons or both...like him."

"What do you mean he was both?"

"He turned himself into a Nephilim by walking into Hell. He turned himself into half demon and half angel. It's why he was able to still be good. His grace really was as I had always meant for it to be."

"Then what happened to him!? Why did you do this? He said the two of you talked."

"We did, but...the...the connection the two of you had...I had decided long ago to stay out of the...intimate relationships of the angels unless they came to me to tell me about it. So...I didn't know until recently that when the two of you met on the wall...it was love at first sight. It...It's one of the purest forms of True Love there is."

"True Love? I thought the tests..."

"...not really. It's just no one wanted to take them anymore. I gave him a choice. Either...you forget him forever and he's restored to who he once was, or you forget him, he keeps six thousand years of memories, and he becomes human to see if the love between the two of you was true. To see if you were soulmates, and to see if your love could conquer all, like love is meant to."

"I remembered him as Raphael this whole time. I remembered what I had with Raphael. I've ALWAYS remembered. Why didn't I forget that?"

"Because...I suppose...he forgot, so it didn't count as something the two of you had together...at the moment."

"So why is he dying?"

"Normally...I'm Omnipotent, but even I can make mistakes. The Earthly Nephilim were perfect examples. I didn't factor in that he might've had love at first sight, or what his UNLIMITED grace would try and do."

"What is it trying to do?"

"It's trying to fight for dominance. His grace is trying to take over all that he is. It's trying to replenish itself, but in doing so, it will kill the human version of Crowley and it will restore him."

"I...I hate to sound cruel, but how would that be a bad thing?"

"Because...his grace always replenished itself to how it was when I first gave it. If his grace restores him before the test is passed, then he will be restored and he will be new all over again. He won't remember ANYTHING. He won't even remember his own name."

"Then fix it! Pass the test!"

"I can't!"

"WHY NOT!?"

"BECAUSE I AM NOT THE ONE WHO CREATED TRUE LOVE!" She snapped back, causing the windows to nearly shatter while a thunderstorm with heavy wind suddenly appeared outside. She took a deep breath in and a deep breath out, and seemingly allowed the thunderstorm to continue outside, but the wind died down as she said, "He was. He created True Love. He created Soulmates. He was my first angel ever, and as such, he created SO MUCH with me. He created the stars, he helped create Earth, but he also created True Love, Soulmates, and while he did that, I created the aspect of Alphas and Omegas among angels."

"Wait...so...because HE was the one to create True Love, you can't stop the True Love test?"

"Exactly. I had thought...I thought that perhaps the two of you fell in love like any other angel pair, or eventually as an angel and demon, but Love at First Sight was involved, which means...it was True Love from the moment you saw each other."

"Then shouldn't the test end on its own?"

"It's not that easy." She shook her head. "Something has to happen that he's secretly always wanted to happen, and something he would never in his entire existence ask for. I don't know what that is, so I don't know how to help him. Tell me...how did the two of you remember?"

"I can't say about him, but it was after I wrapped my arms and wings around him...and said 'MY RAPHAEL'. He was in agony, and then he remembered. For me...I remembered when he and I first met. I had bested some angels in sparring, and was prepared for the next. He showed up and revealed his wings. I...I don't think I've ever seen anything as beautiful as he was. My grace ached to be closer and my knees felt weak when he spoke. He said he had fallen in love with me in Heaven when he saw me in a garden that he created. I...I cut him deep during the sparring match. I had meant to cut him, yes, but not...as deep as I had." He moved Crowley's shirt to reveal the scar, which surprisingly caused God to gasp. "He asked me if I could heal, and I told him I could, but it was considered to be imperfect. He asked me to leave my mark on him. To make him mine. So...I did. I poured as much of myself that I could, but mostly, I just wanted to protect him...always...no matter what. Even if I wasn't there. It was with him as a demon, apparently, and now as a human. This was how I knew he was telling the truth. I also remembered something he told me about...about the ring he gave me. He forged it himself, and in the forge he put in his own blood, a primary feather, and a piece of his grace. He gave it to me and said 'Gold for Gold', so I wondered what would happen if I touched the two. When I did...I remembered things he told me, but nothing else."

"Oh...Aziraphale...I don't think you know what the two of you had done in that moment."

"When we exchanged golds?"

"Yes, exactly." She smiled as a tear fell down her face. "The two of you are...married."

"WHAT!?"

"Yes, and something incredibly important that was always meant to happen with marriage...hadn't happened."

"What's that?"

"To seal it with a kiss."

"I...I kissed his knuckles in the car and he passed out."

"That likely may have been a contributor. You didn't kiss his lips, and he didn't expect it. The kiss has to be had with free will. Both must want it and both must be sure the other wants it."

"I...I did this?"

"Unknowingly, yes, but...perhaps...we can go through his memories together and find what it is that he wants, but won't ask for, and if you can give it-"

"-I don't care what it is. I'll give it to him." Aziraphale said quickly as a stray tear slipped away. "If he wanted my life, he can have it, because he's already had my heart for SUCH a long time, and a life without him isn't one worth living. I'm not going to be sorry for that, God. He's mine and I'm his. Completely."

"I understand." She smiled brilliantly. "When we go through his memories...he won't be with us, because essentially...we'll be going into his subconscious, but we'll be viewing it as if we were there. Are you ready?"

"What about him dying?"

"I can do my best to slow the process, but if I feel like he is just about to die, I will take us out of his subconscious immediately."

"Okay. I'm ready, then."

"Good, because at least one of us is." She admitted before she miracled a light onto Crowley. "Take my hand."

Aziraphale took it, and wasn't sure what he'd find, but he wasn't lying when he said that if Crowley wanted his life he could have it. What he didn't tell God was that if Crowley was about to die, then he would give Crowley as much of his own life that he could, just like Crowley gave some of his grace. He just hoped it wouldn't come to that.


	6. Clue Within Memories?

_The first place they ended up was where everyone was gathered around to see the animals walk into the Ark. People were pointing and laughing at Noah and his family while little kids who didn't know any better, played with their remaining animals and each other._

_"Hello, Aziraphale!" Crawley chimed as he swiftly came up to Aziraphale's side._

_"Crawley."_

_"So, giving the mortals a flaming sword...how did that work out for ya?"_

_"Well...the almighty has never actually mentioned it again." Aziraphale answered as he nervously fidgeted with his hands._

_"Probably a good thing." He commented before he looked around and saw the animals walking into the large Ark. "What's all this about? Build a big boat and fill it with a traveling zoo?"_

_"From what I hear...God's a bit tetchy. Wiping out the human race. Big storm."_

_"All of them!?" He questioned with a risen brow. 'Surely not all of them!' Crawley thought desperately._

_"Just the locals." Aziraphale stated as if that would help matters, but it seemed both knew it wouldn't. "I don't believe the Almighty's upset with the Chinese or Native Americans...or the Australians."_

_"Yet." He spat angrily._

_"And God's not actually going to wipe out ALL the locals. I mean, Noah, up there...his family, his son, their wives...they're all going to be fine."_

_"But...they're DROWNING everybody else!" After he said that, Crawley looked around and noticed the kids playing, and though Aziraphale couldn't see it then, he noticed now as the pure heartache settled in the demon's eyes. "Not the kids...you can't kill kids!"_

_"Mmm-Hmm." He squeaked out as he continued to nod his head._

_"Well, that's more the kind of thing you expect my lot to do."_

_"Yes, but when it's done, uh...the Almighty's going to put up a new thing called a 'Rain Bow', as a promise not to drown everyone again."_

_"How Kind!" Crawley sarcastically said as he thought, 'A rainbow? Really? An array of colors made by water, light, and air? As a promise to not DROWN everyone again!? What were you thinking, Mother!?'_

_"You can't judge the Almighty Crawley. God's plans are-"_

_"-Are you going to say ineffable?" Crawley quickly interrupted, obviously not wanting to hear that word at the moment._

_"Possibly."_

_Neighing and galloping was heard, which caught Crawley's attention, so the demon shouted, "Oi! Shem! That Unicorn's going to make a run for it! Oh, it's too late...It's too late! Well, you still got one of them!" A loud thunderclap sounded overhead and soon everyone around them realized that rain was coming, and it was in large droplets of water. "Aziraphale, I understand if you won't help, but surely Heaven didn't say that you couldn't be on the Ark...wanting a bit of fresh air?"_

_"You can't possibly be implying what I think you are!" Aziraphale said as he gawked at the demon._

_"Get on the Ark, the humans trust you anyway, I've seen them talking to you. Say you'll be the one to feed the animals, and make an opening in the hull of the Ark where I can hide some children."_

_"WHY!?"_

_"BECAUSE THEY DON'T DESERVE TO DIE!" Crawley snapped, and both were grateful that most of the humans had run off, and unfortunately, some had just simply abandoned their children. "They've done nothing wrong." A broken sob left Crowley's voice. "They're innocent."_

_"You actually care...don't you?" Aziraphale asked with a stunned expression._

_"You're the only one that I trust to help me do this."_

_"Oh...all right. I suppose...since they weren't...explicit with their instructions about AFTER the rain arrives."_

_"OH!" Crawley perked up with a brilliant smiled before hugging Aziraphale and swinging him around. "THANK YOU!" When the spinning stopped, Crawley placed his hands on Aziraphale's shoulder and smiled. "Look, you're going to have to move fast. I'm going to get the ones here, and then any I can get to before they drown or are completely abandoned and helpless."_

_"I understand." Aziraphale miracled himself onto the Ark and Crawley spread his wings as he crouched down to the closest child he could find. "Hello."_

_The child was shaking and scared. "What's your name?"_

_"A...Ariah." She answered._

_"Are you scared?"_

_"My Papa left me. He didn't even say goodbye."_

_"Would you like to come with me?" The girl nodded, and took his hand. "We're going to find some others. Do you have any siblings?"_

_"No." She answered. "Okay."_

_Crowley found two more children around her age, and had them hold onto him as tightly as they could while he flew them onto the Ark. "Thank you!" He told Aziraphale before flying out again. When he flew out, the rain was coming down harder and lightning was starting to strike the building water. The next ones he found were not children, but an infant. It had to be no older than a few weeks, and it was placed on a stump that was about to be overrun with water, so he flew down and picked the infant up, holding it close to his chest. When he flew back onto the Ark, he closed the opening himself. "There's...no one else." He said as he looked down to the infant._

_"An...An infant was to drown?"_

_"Apparently." Crowley muttered before he changed his form to a woman that could feed the infant, and he began to feed the baby, who quickly stopped their crying for food._

_"A-Are you really feeding it?"_

_"NO! I just thought I would do this for the Hell of it!" He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm feeding it. I'll check the gender after, but it needs to eat."_

_"And...you know how to do that?"_

_"I do." He nodded. "I've helped women learn how to do it when they've delivered twins and weren't sure how to hold the two."_

_"What about...I mean...you're a demon, would that..."_

_"It won't harm the baby, if that's what you're asking."_

_"Excuse me..." One of the children spoke. "...My name is Julian...are...the two of you angels?"_

_"Aziraphale is an angel." Crawley explained. "I'm a demon."_

_"A demon?" The child's eyes widened._

_"Does that scare you?"_

_"A little, but...you don't seem like you'll hurt us, so...it's okay. Thank you."_

_"You're very welcome, child." Crawley replied. "You should say thanks to Aziraphale as well. He made the way open for us."_

_The boy turned and smiled just before wrapping his arms around Aziraphale. "Thank you, Aziraphale." The rest of the children surprised the angel by wrapping their arms around him, thanking him, and then they went to go sit by Crawley, who opened her wings for them to lay against rather than the hard wall of the Ark._

_"It's so soft!" Ariah said as she gently pet the feathers._

_"If we can get a chicken or another bird...we can wait until it's killed for food, and we can use the feathers as pillows." Julian suggested._

_"Yeah!" Ariah agreed. "But don't worry Mr...Miss...Demon Angel...we won't take your feathers."_

_"Yeah..." The other girl said. "...you're nice."_

_"Thank you, but let's keep that nice bit our little secret, okay?"_

_"Okay." She nodded._

_"What's your name?"_

_"Sakora." She answered with a pout. "I don't like my name."_

_"Do you want a different name?"_

_"I can do that?" She asked with wide eyes._

_"Of course. It'll be called a nickname. You'll always know your real name, but it's just a nickname that friends or family call you."_

_"I don't have a family anymore."_

_"What are you talking about?" Crawley said as she finished feeding the baby. He then burped the baby and miracled the mess away. When he checked the gender, he miracled away the dirty cloth and miracled on a new and warm one. "She's a girl...and what are you talking about you don't have a family? We're family...or we CAN be if you want."_

_"You'll be our Dad...or...mom?" Sakora asked._

_"No, that's much more complicated than you realize. If anyone asks though, you could say I'm your Godfather or Uncle, or if I'm like this..." He gestured at his female form. "...Godmother or Aunt. I'll look after you all and teach you amazing things. Things that will help you in the future when you're older. Do you all want that? Because...I truly don't mind. You're all wonderful."  
_

_"I want to!" Ariah grinned._

_"Same!" Julian laughed._

_"I'd like that a lot." Sakora replied._

_"Good."_

_"But..." Sakora started as she played with the now sleeping baby's feet that were wrapped up in the blanket that Crawley miracled into existence. "...I think you should be her mama or papa. You fed her, and she's so tiny. You would also make a great mama."_

_"Yeah! Be her mama!" The other two cheered._

_Crawley smiled brightly at the children before he looked down at the little one he was holding. "What do you think of that, little one? Want me to be your mama and sometimes papa?" He looked up at Aziraphale with a nervous look in his eyes._

_Aziraphale gave a soft smile as he looked at the other children and how Crawley was holding the small baby girl. He crouched down and gently brushed his hand through her hair, changing it from dark brunette to a scarlet red that matched Crawley's. "I can't change her eyes, but I can do this. Now, she looks like her mother."_

_Crawley smiled up at him, and their eyes locked, but neither said anything about it. "Thank you, Aziraphale." He looked down at the little one in his arms, rocking her gently, "I love children. They're so unique, full of potential, honest, stubborn, and they learn so much."_

_"You'll be a great mother. I do hope you don't mind...if I visit."_

_"Of course not." Crawley nearly laughed out. "You helped us after all. Now, I do think she needs a name."_

_"Aurora, I should think." Aziraphale answered, but soon, apparently realized he had and immediately apologized for it. "I'm sorry, I...I shouldn't have. She's your human child."_

_"N-No..." Crawley shook his head before looking down at Aurora. "...it's perfect. Your name is Aurora."_

_"I...I still want my nickname." Sakora said._

_"Of course." Crawley nodded as he wiped away a singular tear. "How about Sakura. That sounds much prettier."_

_"Okay! I like that! Thank you!"_

"That..." Aziraphale said as he stood next to God in disbelief at the scene he had just watched before him. "...that was really us at the Ark."

"Yes, it was." God said before the memory changed to a bustling town.

_Crawley was walking through the town, looking at the stalls that the humans had out, when he suddenly bumped into someone, who was holding a great deal of scrolls. "What in the...OH!" Crawley's tone immediately shifted from irritated to pleased in a millisecond. "Hello, Aziraphale. Haven't seen you in a while." He told him as he crouched down to help him pick up scrolls. "What brings you here?"_

_"Oh, Crawley! Well, if you must know, the Library of Alexandria brought me here. I have an opportunity to look over and translate scrolls there! Oh, you should come with me! It's such a beautiful place!"_

_"It's not consecrated, is it?"_

_"Not that I'm aware of. I'm sure you'd like it though."_

_"Oh?" Crawley smirked as he picked up a fourth scroll. "Why is that?" He asked as he got up from the ground since they were done picking up the scrolls._

_"You just strike me as a demon that enjoys watching the humans learn, create, and build. This was something. Sometimes...they write serious things down and then sometimes...they tell simple stories that aren't true, but are great fun to read."_

_"Tell you what, Aziraphale. I'll go with you, and you can show me. If I don't like it, I leave."_

_"Why would you leave?"_

_"I was about to fly home. I finished up my temptations here." He replied as he followed Aziraphale down the road. "Was just picking up something for a...erm...friend."_

_"A ROMANTIC friend?" Aziraphale teased._

_"No, I don't have one of those, unfortunately."_

_"Why do you say that?"_

_"Well...I remember a little bit of Heaven, and...I remember what I had done there, and I...well...I miss the feeling of love there."_

_"Are you sure you can speak of things so boldly, Crawley?" Aziraphale asked as he stopped with an astounded expression. "Also...I didn't think any demon would miss Heaven."_

_"Well, I know I do, but the only reason why I'm saying it out in the open is because I got commendation."_

_"Congratulations. For how long?"_

_"Two years, but it's better than nothing."_

_"My word! What did you do to earn two years?"_

_"I personally didn't do anything. I just took credit for something the humans did, and it was perfect, because the timing that they sent me here, what they sent me for, and the humans that did it...it all aligned perfectly. Would you like me to tell you?"_

_"Of course!" The memory blinked and it showed they were at the library. "Well, I can't say I approve of any of that, but if you gained two years of commendation and Hell is basically ignorant to your efforts...then there isn't much to complain about is there?"_

_"No, there is not. So, is this the place?" Crawley asked before letting out an impressed whistle. "I've seen this building from afar...kind of hard to miss, but up close...it's like...hmm...never mind. Let's deliver your scrolls, huh?"_

_The memory blinked again and this time it was nearing dusk, and Crawley was bumped against frantically by people. "Fire! The Library is on FIRE!"_

_Crawley whipped his head around and saw great flames erupting from the library that he knew Aziraphale to be in. "NO!" He shouted before placing a miracle on himself to not be noticed. He then let out his wings and flew as fast as he could to the library. Once inside, he immediately started searching. "This is..." He said as he took hold of some of the flames. He then hissed in anger as he doused the flame in his hands. "...HELLFIRE!" He growled. "Aziraphale!" He shouted as he rushed through the building. He looked left and right, trying to find any sign of him._

_"C-Crawley!" He heard a familiar voice cough._

_"Hold on! I'm coming!"_

_"No! Don't! I...I smote..."_

_"FUCK!" Crawley hissed before he made it to Aziraphale, whose body collapsed under the weight of the flames and the beam. The flames that held a great deal of Hellfire were still licking at Aziraphale's upper arms and thighs, so Crawley quickly doused them and forced the beam away. When he lifted Aziraphale off the floor, he fought the tears that threatened to fall and he flew out of the building, and made his way towards Rome._

_On the way there, Aziraphale woke up in his arms. "Crawley?" He asked blearily._

_"Shh...save your strength. You're going to be okay." He told him just before he landed at his home. "Jacob!"_

_It didn't take long, but eventually a man that seemed to be in his early thirties appeared just as Aziraphale had passed out again. "Is everything okay?"_

_"Yes, I need you to ready a warm bath, okay? I'm going to need you to combine the_ _frankincense and sea salt bath salts into the bath. I'll take care of things from there, but if you don't mind, please get the spare room ready."_

_"Is that...him?"_

_"Yes, it is, now please!"_

_"I'm on my way!" Jacob nodded as he ran away to do as Crawley asked._

_"Good...now..." Crawley walked without so much as a wince or a visible show of strain as he continued to walk with Aziraphale in his arms. Eventually Crawley took him into a bedroom that help many various shades of green, blue, and black. "...let's get you out of those clothes. I won't ask for forgiveness, because I don't deserve it, but hopefully you won't be mad at me for not asking." Crawley removed Aziraphale's clothes as carefully as he could before tossing it into a miraculously lit fireplace. When Crawley picked Aziraphale up again, he noted that Aziraphale hadn't made an effort, but apparently while he was burning the clothes, the angel's wings came out, and they were in disarray. "I'll groom those for you during your bath. I just hope it works."_

_As he was walking down the hallway, Jacob came to tell Crawley that the bath was ready. "What are you going to do? He's an angel, isn't he?"_

_"I'm going to do something...a bit...risky." Crawley answered as he followed Jacob to the bath. "I need you to go get a room ready for him, and yes...he's an angel." As Jacob went away, Crawley walked into the large room with an extraordinarily large bath, and he carefully placed Aziraphale in the colorful and aromatic water. Once in the water, Crawley disrobed and climbed in with him with a wash cloth in hand. "Okay, Aziraphale. I'm going to try something...and you may not like it, but your burns are Hellfire...and though I can take the hellfire out...it won't heal them and it will likely take your limbs with it, so...let's hope I don't die during this..." Crawley held the wash cloth to his core and took a deep breath in before letting another out. As he let the breath out, he winced in pain as he took out something glowing emerald green, white, and turquoise. "Ah...still...have...some...after all." He groaned before rubbing the grace into the wash cloth._

"Why would he do that!? That...He could've DIED! He was already a demon! Any amount of Heavenly grace he had left would've been precious!"

"Not as precious as you, apparently." God stated as she, too, was stunned at the fact that Crawley removed a piece of his grace to heal the Hellfire. "It's...genius. It'll work just like Holy Water, but because it's a part of him originally, it won't harm him."

_Crawley washed Aziraphale's entire body with lavender soap before using his grace soaked wash cloth to rinse and wash the rest of him off. As he used the grace-soaked wash cloth, the Hellfire in his arms and legs was doused and the wounds closed, healing completely, but that didn't mean Aziraphale would be able to use them directly after. Once he was done with that, he picked Aziraphale up out of the bath, and sat him up against a bench with soft pillows so that he could dry him off._

_After that was done, he miracled on a new set of clothes, and carried Aziraphale out of the bathroom, where he was met with Jacob's curious eyes. "I um..."_

_"Eyes up, Jacob." Crawley demanded gently, but also in a somewhat possessive manner._

_"Right..." The man nodded. "...the room's ready."_

_"Thank you, and I'm sorry that I couldn't get you wanted."_

_"Don't worry about it. Apparently you were busy." Jacob stated as he followed them._

_When Crawley walked into the spare room, it was various different shades of blue, brown, and white, because that's what he wanted for Aziraphale, and he set him down on the bed. "Ask your question, Jacob." Crawley said as he carefully laid Aziraphale on his back._

_"Is he going to be okay?"_

_"He should be."_

_"Are you?"_

_"I'm not sure."_

_"Why not?"_

_"I made myself very weak with what I did, but honestly..." Crawley chuckled as he sat next to Aziraphale on the bed, looking at him with a gentle smile, "...I can't bring myself to care. His breathing is back to normal at least."_

_"Do you...want me to leave you two alone?"_

_"If you don't mind, and I'm sorry if I've seemed cruel. It wasn't my intention. I just..." A look of pain crossed Crawley's features for a brief moment, but was quickly schooled as he let out a sigh. "...I can't stand the thought of anything bad happening to him."_

_"You really love him, huh?" Jacob smiled._

_"Yes, I really do. I'd do anything for him."_

_"You're a demon...would you go to Heaven and back for him?"_

_"I'd go to Heaven and stayed if he asked it of me." Crawley answered as he gave Jacob his full attention. "Do you mind making dinner tonight?"_

_"Not at all, Father." Jacob smiled before leaving the room._

_"Right...let's get your wings sorted. I doubt all of this is from the fire. Really, Aziraphale...how could you let them get like this?" With shaking hands and tired eyes, he carefully began to groom Aziraphale's wings. Eventually the memory slowly dimmed to black, but then opened to light. However, Crawley was no longer grooming Aziraphale's wings. Instead, he was on the bed with his head resting on Aziraphale's chest. "Ugh...my head..." He groaned before he felt Aziraphale's hand move up and down his arm, causing him to shoot up and blink wildly at Aziraphale. Soon, however, the swift movement caught up to him and he had to lay back down. "It hurts."_

_"Well, I can imagine." Aziraphale's replied hoarsely. "You carried me all the way from the library to here, and then you apparently wash me and even get halfway down with grooming my wings. What I can't fathom is...how you HEALED Hellfire."_

_"I um...used most of the grace that survived the fall."_

_"You what!?" Aziraphale gasped in pure bafflement._

_"The only way to heal Hellish wounds is with something Holy. I had some angelic grace left...don't know how, but...I did, so I gave it to you. I soaked a wash cloth with it, and I used that to heal the burns. H-How...did I get in the bed though...and laying on you?"_

_"I'm not entirely sure, but...I have the vaguest feeling that I pulled you into bed with me. Now, WHY would you use what REMAINING grace you had left...on me?"_

_"I couldn't let you die. I just couldn't. You're my best friend, or...at the very least...you're the one who understands the Earth like I do and...it's weird to think about this world without you in it..."_

_"...yes, but why risk killing yourself?"_

_"Some things...can't be explained." Crawley decided to say._

_"Are you still weak?"_

_"I am. How are you feeling?"_

_"Better, but...my arms and legs need strengthening up. What woke me up was the sudden commendation for two years. Fancy that."_

_"I'll help you build your strength up, Aziraphale."_

_"And I'll help you, My Dear."_

_After that, the memories continued to show Jesus' crucifixion, the night that they had oysters in Rome and discussed what had happened in the eight years they were missing. After that, it showed when they met during King Arthur's reign, then it showed how Aziraphale had to help heal him during the fourteenth century, because Crowley had pushed himself too far, because he tried to heal as many families as he could. Many Years after that was over, Crowley miracled Hamlet a success, helped Aziraphale out of the Bastille, asked Aziraphale for Holy Water, then took almost an 80 year nap, gained some fame against Nazis, and once that was built up, rescued Aziraphale from the Nazis._

_When Aziraphale eventually convinced Crowley to join him in the bookshop, he ordered Crowley to sit down in what was apparently Crowley's favorite couch, and he rushed away to grab healing supplies. When he got back, he sat down with the medicine and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Dear Boy. I can't miracle these away or pull out the Holy burns, but I CAN treat them, and soothe the pain. Any chance you have commendation?"_

_"No-" a scroll appearing in front of him interrupted his words. He opened it and grinned before signing his name and burning the scroll. "-Yes, I do. I have five months for bombing a church and killing three Nazis."_

_"Oh! Good. I've got about eight months of commendation, so if need be, I can always come with you after your five months and continue treating your feet and ankles. Socks and shoes off, Dear."_

_"Yeah...right..." Crowley nodded before slowly taking off his socks and shoes. As he did so, he hissed in pain, and he wasn't even completely done with taking his sock off yet._

_"Dear boy...allow me to help."_

_"Angel..." Crowley sighed as he watched Aziraphale conjure a place for Crowley to set his feet. It looked rather comfortable, but there seemed to be guilt in his eyes._

_"What is it?"_

_"You're an angel...and...you're about to wash a demon's feet."_

_"Thank you for the reminder, Dear. I had almost forgotten." Aziraphale said as he rolled his eyes. "Feet. Up. Now. Don't be difficult."_

_"I'm NOT being difficult."_

_"Fine." Aziraphale huffed out in impatience. "Stop being childish."_

_"It's practically worship, Aziraphale! You're making yourself...lower. You shouldn't do that. Not for me."_

_Aziraphale chuckled lightly as he placed both hands on his knees. "You shouldn't have given me some...if not ALL...your remaining angelic grace for me back in 48 BC."_

_"You still remember that!?" Crowley gawked._

_"Of course I do. I woke up and you were snuggled against me, and then you tell me you sacrificed what survived your fall...just to heal me. Yes, of course I remember it, Crowley. I also don't consider this making myself lower."_

_"Paying back a favor then." Crowley breathed out. "You don't have to."_

_"No, I don't, and no it's not paying back a favor. I want to do this for you. After all you've done for me. Please."_

_Crowley seemed to be calmed in that moment, because his shoulders relaxed and he put his feet on top of the cushion that Aziraphale had prepared. "Still feels strange."_

_"You know..." Aziraphale said as he grabbed a wash cloth. "...because you did what you did back then...with my Hellfire wounds...I can sense you more than anyone else. I wonder why that is."_

_"Not sure." Crowley answered honestly._

_"Hmm..."_

_"Say, Angel?"_

_"Hmm?" He asked as he put the medicinal liquid on the wash cloth._

_"What was with that dazed look on your face when you were standing in the rubble of the church?"_

_"O-Oh...that...well...I figured out something. Something...I believe to be very important to me."_

_"Mind telling me?"_

_"I-I do, in fact. If you don't mind."_

_"I don't mind at all, Angel." Crowley smiled. "We all have our secrets."_

_"That we do. Now...this may hurt..."_

_Before he could apply the medicine the memory shifted to Aziraphale going into a car and telling Crowley he could call off the robbery, and then he uttered the line that visibly hurt Crowley, and he left._

"That..." God blinked a few times in shock.

"H-How could I say that? N-No, I can't believe I said that to him. I can't!"

"But you did. This is more than his subconscious. These are his memories, and for some reason...I don't think that's the worst of it."

_After that, the memory changed to reveal everything that happened with Crowley during what was supposed to be the final eleven years of Earth. "...THERE IS NO OUR SIDE, CROWLEY! Not anymore! It's OVER!" The look of shock and heartache that appeared on the demon seemed to pierce through past and present Aziraphale._

"I...I understand I was scared apparently, but...to...to say THAT...after everything we've been through!?"

"Keep watching, it's not over yet."

_Watch he did. He watched from that point, to Crowley looking for a place to go, to Crowley using the Holy Water he gave him...on a fellow demon. Then, he watched him walk headfirst into flames to look for him one last time, and Aziraphale was no where to be found. The demon sobbed on the floor with a book in hand before wiping away the tears and walking out of the burning bookshop with a book that Aziraphale had ALWAYS wanted to get his hands on, and he apparently knew it._

_They then watched Aziraphale appear, discorporated, in front of Crowley and how, even after what Aziraphale had said to him at the bandstand, he was so ready and willing to meet up with him._

_They watched how the end of the world didn't happen, how Crowley drove through a wall of infernal fire, how Crowley arrived, how Adam and his friends defeated the horsemen, and how Crowley stopped time, because Aziraphale threatened him. After that, they watched how Adam basically told Satan to sod off, and then the memory blinked, showing them arriving at Crowley's flat._

_"Come in, Angel. It's not much, but it's where I go when I'm not home."_

_"Not...home?" Aziraphale asked as he looked around the sparse flat._

_"The Bookshop."_

_"Y-You..." Aziraphale gaped at Crowley in disbelief, but his eyes watered all the same. "...You really considered the bookshop...home? Why? I thought you didn't like all of the books, a-a-and...you've told me I should replace the sofa, and..."_

_Crowley stopped for a moment, only looking back at Aziraphale with a small and hesitant smile. "It wasn't those that I was referring to, Angel. Think of what or...who else...is constantly there. Now, while you contemplate that, I'm going to go take a shower. I smell like a burning bookshop, Hellfire torched car, and...burnt leather."_

_"T-Take your time, Crowley." Aziraphale barely breathed out as it seemed he understood what Crowley meant._

_The memory blinked, and Crowley came out of the hallway with only a pair of black boxers and a black tank top on as he dried his hair with the towel. "That prophecy you caught...I had an idea, Aziraphale." When he was done drying his hair, he sat down next to Aziraphale on the couch that was miraculously more comfortable than before, and he noticed the angel staring at him. "Is something wrong?"_

_"We...You're right, Crowley. It's...It's not over. They're...Hell is going to destroy you! H-Holy Water!"_

_"Yes, and Heaven is going to destroy you. Hellfire, I imagine. So, about that prophecy..."_

_"Will you shut up about the prophecy! This is serious!"_

_"I AM being serious, Aziraphale." Crowley stated calmly. "You caught it, and it said something about fire. I think it meant Hellfire. Since you caught it, it would mean the most to you. It also said to choose our faces. I think we need to switch places, Aziraphale."_

_"Switch? How on Earth would we do that?"_

_"Grace for Grace, I think."_

_"Gold...for Gold..." Aziraphale whispered with widened eyes._

_"What was that, Angel? I couldn't hear you."_

_"N-Nothing, Dear Boy."_

_"Hmm...well...anyway, like I was saying, I would willingly give my grace over to you, and you to me, and we would just...place our graces in the other's body. Everything else should follow."_

_"You make it sound easy."_

_"It should be. I won't lie and say it's not uncomfortable, but-"_

_"-how would you know?" Aziraphale quickly asked as if desperate for the information._

_"Angel, what's wrong?_

_"How would you know what it's like to remove your grace and put it into something else?"_

_"Are...Are you sure you're okay?"_

_"Please...answer me, Crowley." Aziraphale pleaded, which caused Crowley to jump slightly._

_"I've done it before. In Heaven and on Earth. On Earth, it was when I helped with your Hellfire burns."_

_"A-And in Heaven?"_

_"Honestly..." He sighed out as he shook his head. "...I can't remember. I remember Heaven, but for some reason...I can't remember placing my grace into something. It was important. I know that. Something...I considered more important than myself. It's the ONE thing I can't remember from Heaven. I don't mind it all, I guess...that's one less ounce of pain, but...it was important. I would've liked to know what it was."_

_"I..." Aziraphale laughed out through tears. "...W-Well...whatever it may have been, we should um..." He hesitantly grabbed Crowley's hand with a wide and tearful smile. "...we should focus on the prophecy."_

_"Why are you crying?"_

_"I guess...everything's caught up with me." He said as he squeezed Crowley's hand a bit tighter. "It's caught up to me in such an unimaginable way." He whispered. "S-So...how are we going to do it?"_

_"Just like this, I guess. Holding hands. We just...need to focus on pushing our grace into the corporeal form...without our graces touching. A swap."_

_Aziraphale nodded his head and loosened his grip ever so slightly. "I'm ready."_

_"Right...let's swap." They both closed their eyes and not only did their graces switched, but their entire FORMS changed and shifted. Crowley's shifted to appear like Aziraphale's and Aziraphale's shifted to appear like Crowley. When they opened their eyes, Crowley as Aziraphale let out a victorious laugh. "WE DID IT!" At the sound of Aziraphale's voice coming out, Crowley stopped and blinked rapidly. "Wow...that's...weird."  
_

_"Indeed...it is."_

_"Ah...and the first thing we need to work on...is speech pattern. Next...is movement and reactions."_

_After that, Crowley went to Heaven as Aziraphale, and even spat Hellfire at Gabriel, Sandalphon, and Uriel._

_Following that, was dining at the Ritz, and the conversation between God, Crowley, and Lucifer._

Quickly, the dream journey of memories was ending, and it would soon be time to figure out what was hidden in everything they saw of Crowley's memories. Only one thing ran through Aziraphale's mind as they slowly left. 'He's mine, and I will NEVER reject him...EVER again! I want to keep him.'


	7. The End ?

Once they were back to the present, Aziraphale looked down at Crowley carefully. He noticed how he was sweating and breathing heavily. "He...wasn't like this before." Aziraphale stated as he brought out a handkerchief to dab away some of the sweat from his brow. "What happened?"

"I shouldn't have started the test, is what happened."

"How do you mean?"

"I was rash, and...I acted too quickly. I...was sure of what the two of you had, so I believed it would pass anyway. I KNEW it would. I just...didn't factor in Love At First Sight, or that the two of you exchanged Golds and grace, or...about how as an angel...his grace was limitless...for eternity. Well...he's not dead yet. Instead...his grace is trying to thrive...with...or without him, but a human body can't handle grace. Not angelic grace anyway."

"Even God makes mistakes." Aziraphale mused.

"Yes, even I make mistakes, though they are very rare. I also regret, feel pain, sorrow, and guilt. Now, back to Crowley...if he dies...in his human form, the test will fail, and he will wake up not knowing you. Unless..."

"...Unless we figure out what he's always wanted, but would never ask for." Aziraphale nodded his head as he put away the handkerchief so that he could fiddle with his ring. As he did so, words from his past memories and Crowley's kept coming back.

 _'Oh...I guess...I guess it should've gone on the actual ring finger, yes? I mean...God called them ring fingers, and I guess...I should've put two and two together so...'_ Aziraphale never let Raphael finish that sentence. He wonders...what would've happened if he had.

'...Bit of an overreaction...' Crawley had said on the wall about Adam and Eve being kicked out, despite it being HIS doing.

 _'Not the KIDS! You can't kill KIDS!'_ Crawley had looked equal parts distraught, disappointed, astonished, and mournful as he noticed the happy children.

 _'What's for Lunch?'_ Crowley had asked after rescuing Aziraphale from The Bastille, almost as if he knew that Aziraphale would invite him. He had also said during that time to not thank him.

 _'Fraternize!?'_ Crowley had spat back at Aziraphale, the look of pain and heartache visible on his face after declaring the Holy Water wasn't for suicide.

He remembered the memory of Crowley saving him from the Nazis, and he remembered watching Crowley dancing down the aisle towards him, almost as if...and looking back on it, there was a fluttering in his chest at seeing Crowley, but as he remembered these things from his own point of view, he realized it wasn't just from seeing Crowley again. He didn't know what it was back then, but he knew of a realization after he was handed a miraculously saved bag of books that were saved by a demon in pain.

 _'Anywhere you want to go.'_ Crowley had offered when Aziraphale had given him a thermos filled with lethal trust.

 _'We have to work together!'_ Crowley said as the End of everything had begun.

 _'...we'll be Godfathers...'_ Crowley had drunkenly stated as they came up with their plan for the Antichrist and how to stop the End.

 _'...We can go off together!'_ Crowley had desperately suggested, and then after a few more exchanged words, Crowley hissed out, _'...We're on our side!'_ To which, Aziraphale rejected him once again.

 _'...Wherever you are, I'll come to you...'_ Crowley had said to a discorporated Aziraphale while inebriated.

He thought, with all of that in his head, and while he was still missing so many years with Crowley, he found it amusing that this practically all started with a golden ring. _'The kind...'_ He began in his own mind as he looked down at his pinky finger and remembered once again that Raphael had rambled that it should be on his ring finger. _'...that spouses...'_ He trailed off with a hitch in his breath that apparently God had noticed.

"What's wrong, Aziraphale."

"I...I think I know what he would wants...but would never ask for it, and after how I've treated him...I..." He knew he was crying, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "...I don't blame him. I...I have to make something..."

Aziraphale closed his eyes and focused on the best jeweler in town. He used his Cherubim senses to find the best golden ring they had, and he miracled it into his hand while miracling twice the amount of money the price demanded...in place of the ring. "Did you just..."

"I didn't steal. I miracled the money there. I miracled twice the amount, but this is incredibly important. He...He wants us to be together and...with all those memories of him having taken in children...I think he wants fledglings of his own."

"Are you sure? If you're wrong...about even just one part of that...he WILL die. He doesn't have long left."

"I'm sure. I know it. My heart and everything within me knows it. I also know...it's what I want as well. I've wanted it for SO long."

"How...can you know that with so many memories still missing?"

"I loved him as we were two angels, I fell in love with him when he was a demon, and I fell in love again as he's human. I'll love him no matter what he is. If...If he passes away, then I'll love him while he's in heaven, and my heart and everything within me will never know another love. It never has, in truth." Aziraphale looked at the plain golden wedding band in his hand, and he suspended it in the air with his powers. When he did that, he reduced it to swirling liquid gold.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm giving myself to him. A promise and a physical form of a vow that he will have all of me." Aziraphale declared as he let his wings out. Once they were out, he took his most beautiful primary and gently pulled it from his own wing. He held it up to the liquid gold and smiled as he declared in ancient Enochian, _"With my a feather from my own wing, I vow to lift you up, to protect you, to defend you, and to warm you always."_ Once he finished saying the vow, the feather dissolved into the gold, causing the liquid gold to shimmer briefly. He stood up to stand face to face with the suspended gold, and he miracled a small dagger that he personally owned from Heaven, and he cut the palm of his hand. When he put the dagger away, he raised his hand over the liquid gold and declared, _"With my own blood, I vow that my life is yours. I trust you with it, and with my own life, I will sacrifice all for you."_ The wound healed up and the liquid gold shimmered once again. He then placed both of his hands over his core, and took a deep breath in, then let it out. As he let it out, something glowing a brilliant and holy light wisped around in his hands. It was his grace, or at least as much as he could safely give. He held it against the liquid gold and declared, _"With my own grace, I vow to love you eternally and through every trial and tribulation we go through. I vow to be your guardian angel ALWAYS. With my grace, I also vow to love you until the very last star dies, even if you are no longer alive. I vow to ONLY EVER love you."_

Once he was finished and his grace dissolved into the ring, he willed it to take form once again, but as he wanted it. So, instead of wings, there were two snakes that overlapped each other to form the ring, just like the two snakes on Raphael's staff. "Aziraphale...that's...do you intend to marry him?"

"I do, God. I really and truly do."

"Even...if he dies in the next minute?" God questioned carefully as she looked down at Crowley, whose breathing was worsening.

"Then I'll be married to him for a minute longer than I ever was, and I will love him. I will love him with all I can give in that one minute. I-If you...If you don't mind, God. I would like for you to marry us. Although, I don't know how we would do it without him saying 'I do'."

"Give me both of the rings. Angelic marriage is a bit different than human marriage." Aziraphale did as she asked, and handed them over. He then watched as she held them both in her hands, and whispered something into them. They glowed an iridescent color before returning to normal. "Here you are. Just place the ring you want on him, on his ring finger, and you place the one you've always had on YOUR ring finger."

"Angelic marriage...but there hasn't been..."

"There will be if you put the rings on." She smiled softly. "We will see then if it's what he truly wanted. It will be a time will tell situation." Aziraphale nodded and did as he was asked. After he put his ring on, he moved to Crowley's ring finger and placed it gently on. Once that was done, he looked at Crowley, and felt a strange pull to softly kiss his lips, so he did. The remarkable thing was, when he felt his lips touch Crowley's, he felt Crowley slowly bring a hand up to the back of his neck, and return the kiss as best as he could with how weak he was.

When he pulled away, he looked at Crowley with a loving smile. "Hello, My Dear."

"Hello to...you...too." Crowley said weakly. "That's a...hell of...a...way...to wake...up. I feel...like...snow white. A handsome prince...came to...kiss me...and I awoke after...being...poisoned."

"Hmm...well...I DO have an important question for you." Aziraphale said as he sat down and ran his fingers through Crowley's hair.

"What is it?"

"Will you marry me?"

"Wh-What!?"

"Will you marry me?" Aziraphale asked once more, never halting in his movements or his smile.

"Wh-Why are you asking me that?"

"Because I'm in love, Dearest, and I don't want anyone else, now please...I'll ask for a third time. I do hope you'll answer what's honestly in your heart, or I'm afraid I'll have to take it as a no. Will you marry me?"

"Yes." Crowley huffed out in a delighted laugh. "I'll marry you."

"Good, because..." Aziraphale held up Crowley's left hand and kissed the ring on it before continuing, "...we already are."

"W-W-We're married?" Crowley said as he looked at the ring on his hand. "H-How!?"

"Well..." Aziraphale said as he showed Crowley that his ring that had forever been on his pinky finger, was now on his ring finger. "...I switched fingers with my ring, and I created a ring for you in the same way you did for me. I...said vows for the things I put in, but your ring also holds my blood, grace, and primary feather. I asked God to marry us, and she has. I suspect...she's even given us her blessing."

Crowley looked directly to Her, and gawked at her. "You...You...we're married now?"

"Yes." She nodded with a brilliant smile. "The first angelic marriage, and you've most certainly been married in the eyes of God. Now, I do believe you're hungry or starving, so I'll get you something to eat. Aziraphale, perhaps you could help your husband in the bath." She walked out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"Husband..." Crowley said as he attempted and failed to lift himself up. "...I...I like the sound of that."

"I must say...I do, too." Aziraphale stated before he helped Crowley to lay back down. "Now, you lay here. I'll get a bath ready for you."

"Hey..." Crowley said as he weakly grabbed Aziraphale's wrist. "...I...As a human...I don't...know how long I have left, but...I had...dreams...sometimes...about us being married. I...I was never going to ask, because...I wasn't sure if it was something you wanted, but..."

"...yes, Crowley." Aziraphale interrupted. "It's something I want. If...If you were able, I...I would even like to have our own fledglings. They...at this point...would be Nephilim, but I would still want them."

"Y-You mean it?" Crowley whimpered out as tears began to threaten to fall.

"Yes." Aziraphale said as he kissed Crowley's forehead. "As many as possible. Though...you're human at the moment, and very much male, so I'd carry them, but oh..." Aziraphale said, and as he continued to say it, he wanted it more and more. He knew he wanted it when he and Raphael were together, and he wants it now...more than ever. "...yes. I would love to have little Nephilim fledglings with you."

Crowley kissed Aziraphale's hand as his tears dripped onto the angel's wrist. "Thank you. I-If I do die as a human...I'll die happy. A life with you...was all I ever wanted."

"I love you, Crowley." Aziraphale said as he forced the tears to stay hidden.

"I love you, too, Aziraphale. Now...I don't...mean...to be impatient, but a bath sounds...wonderful...right now."

"O-Of course."

"Thank you. I'll...just...rest my eyes for a moment more. Wake me when it's ready."

"Of course, Dear."

Aziraphale left and prepared the bath, allowing a few of the tears to fall as he felt mourning heartache within his being. He poured the same mixture that Crowley had made for him in 48 BC, and once the bath was completely ready, he readied himself for whatever he may find...even if it was a deceased Crowley, because it certainly seemed like that's what he was going to find.

When he walked in, he had expected to see Crowley by himself, but instead, he saw Lucifer crying with his face in his arms as he knelt by the bed with his arms resting on the bed next to Crowley. "I...I hope you..."

"L-Lucifer?" Aziraphale chanced, which earned him a gasp from the man that knelt by Crowley's bedside. "Is he?"

"He no longer has a heartbeat." Lucifer stated. "I...I felt it stop while I was tending to his plants in his flat, so I miracled myself over here instantly and...it stopped. His breath has also left him, but...he still smiles. As if...he is finally...truly happy."

"N-No...he...he can't be..." Even though he tried to prepare himself, he couldn't truly prepare himself for the emotional earthquake that happened in his entire form.

Lucifer got up and wiped his tears before he walked over to Aziraphale. "I...I noticed a ring on his finger, and...and I sensed it. I sensed the love the two of you shared. Thank you, Aziraphale, and I'm SO sorry...I...I wish..."

"I..." The tears fell without his consent and he didn't bother to wipe them away as he sat on the bed next to his beloved. "...He told me he was happy, I just...I wish...I could've..."

"Focus on the fact he was happy." Lucifer said as he sniffled. "I-I'm trying to."

"Have you told...Yvette?"

"N-No...I haven't, but-" Lucifer was interrupted when the door opened to reveal, not Yvette, but God as they both knew her in her original corporeal form.

She looked down at Crowley for a moment and then to Aziraphale. "Can...Can you boys give me a moment? I...I need to finish the rest of his test, and that means...I have to take him back to Heaven."

"Y-You can't!"

"I assure you, Aziraphale, Angel of the Eastern Gate of Eden, Guardian of Raphael's heart, grace, and blood...I can." She looked at him expressionlessly before turning to look at Crowley. "Please..."

At that, Lucifer and Aziraphale looked at each other and nodded. "Yes, Mother." Lucifer said quietly.

"Yes, Lord, and...thank you...for everything."

"Don't thank me yet, Aziraphale." She sighed.

Aziraphale nodded as he and Lucifer left. Once outside the door, they felt a heavy Holy miracle, and they both knew that Crowley was taken back to Heaven. "What...will happen to the plant nursery?" Aziraphale questioned in a hushed tone.

"I'll take care of it. I'm determined to keep it." Lucifer stated. "What will you do?"

"I will do as I've vowed. I will continue to love Crowley, and only him for the rest of my life."

"You're an angel, Aziraphale. That's a long, LONG life." Lucifer stated with an astonished expression.

"I understand that, and my vow still stands. He is my One True Love. I will not have another. I refuse. I will mourn and I will continue to love him for all my days, and for all of the days he no longer has."

"I wish you luck, Aziraphale."

"Thank you." Aziraphale nodded before he left Crowley's home with a heavy heart, but as he learned through Crowley's memories, that statement was false. Aziraphale was his home, and he would continue to be. He carried Crowley's love and he would continue to do so until his own life gave out.

* * *

A year had past, well, to be more precise, a year since Armageddon didn't happen after all, and Lucifer kept his word. He kept up the shop, told the children and their parents that Mr. Crowley had a family emergency. When Aziraphale asked about it, Lucifer answered that it was kinder to tell them this rather than make the children believe they had overwhelmed Mr. Crowley at the hospital.

In that year, Aziraphale has cried more than he ever thought he was able, but he still loved fully and completely as if Crowley would just stroll in with a beating human heart and they would finally go out to eat together. Eventually...he still continued to love and the pain had lessened. It wasn't going to make him miss his One True Love any less, but it was easier to move about the bookshop and to look across to the plant nursery.

Night had soon fallen on the bookshop in Soho, and Aziraphale miracled the locks shut, the curtains and shudders closed, and he turned off all of the lights as he made his way to his flat upstairs. Once he was up there, however, he heard his shop door bell ring. "Oh...bother..." He huffed in annoyance as he miracled the lights to be on before walking down his stairs again. "We are most certainly closed, and I'm not sure how you picked the lock, but I must ask you to leave!" He was trying to control his anger by looking at his shoes and taking deep breaths in and out before making it to the door, but then a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Closed, huh? Even to your husband?" It was a familiar voice that made his heart Ineffably ache. Hearing the voice caused him to forget how to move or act, and apparently it caused the footsteps that were attached to the voice to move closer towards him. Eventually, he was met with two very nice black shoes and white slacks. "Aziraphale, My Love...will you look up at me?"

"I...I can't." He stuttered out, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Why not?"

"Y-You're dead. You're not real. You're...just an illusion or...hallucination that my mourning mind has come up with."

The hallucination chuckled warmly and lovingly before Aziraphale felt and saw a hand that was wearing the ring he gave Crowley, tilt his head up, and there he was. "Hallucinations and illusions can't physically touch anyone or anything, My Love." He said with a kind smile.

Baffled and slightly frightened that he may have lost his mind, Aziraphale took a step back and looked at the being before him. He was wearing black shoes, white slacks, a white dress shirt, and a green and golden tie. His auburn hair was long and tied into a ponytail and his eyes shimmered with joy, patience, and love. "I-I've lost my mind...You're..."

"I assure you, Aziraphale, you haven't lost your mind. I'm really here."

"You...but...your heart and breathing stopped!"

"Indeed, they did." The being grinned. "Because I no longer needed them. Angels and Demons don't NEED a heartbeat in their chest or breath in their lungs."

"S-So...you..." I didn't DIE, Aziraphale.

"B-But God said she had to take you back to Heaven!"

"Yes, to be fitted for a new Halo, for everyone to be reintroduced to me, for me to get settled back into my original position again as Healer and Guardian to the humans. I also had to get readjusted to the weight of all my wings before I could roam freely. Otherwise, there's no telling where I would've ended up. Heaven...wasn't too pleased with my return, but they weren't left with much of a choice after Mother's speech of how they all failed."

"Y-You're..."

"I'm a Seraphim again." He smiled brightly. "Unlimited Grace included. There's just one last thing I need to do in order to complete everything." Crowley brought a hand up to the side of Aziraphale's face, and brought his lips to the Cherub's, creating a burst of light coming from both of them. The light they gave off would only be able to be seen by Occult and Ethereal forces, but the effect could be felt all over the world, because of what the kiss promised. It promised love, kindness, stubbornness, protectiveness, and a patience that spanned more than six thousand years. Infants that were crying and toddlers that were fighting sleep were suddenly soothed. Those who were financially burdened suddenly got called to come in for the job they wanted or found themselves with a mysterious amount of money that they needed but didn't have. Places that were once great forests and jungles, but have been destroyed by human means were found to be brought to their glory once more, and all of the plastic and pollution was removed from the Oceans.

However, neither of them focused on these wonderful feats as both felt the really important result as their kiss ended. When Aziraphale opened his eyes, he looked at Crowley once more, and tears instantly fell from his eyes. "Oh! Crowley..." He breathed out with a shuddering breath. "...I remember! I remember EVERYTHING! D-Does this mean...?"

"We passed the test of True Love." Crowley grinned as he gently rubbed his thumb along Aziraphale's cheekbone. "We also passed the test of Soulmates, My Love. Not only that, but we're now Guardians and Warriors of Humanity. God has declared it so. What we just shared, Aziraphale, was True Love's kiss. Something like from a fairy tale, but...in truth...it was True Love's FIRST kiss that saved me from dying. I was seconds away and I knew it, but then you kissed my lips, and...I was exhausted and still so very tired, but you made me so happy with your words, and your kiss saved me, that I knew in my heart that we passed. So, I allowed myself to fall asleep. I'm sorry if you suffered, because of my exhaustion. I'm here now, and I want to take care of you...if you'll still have me as your Husband."

"Husband, Wife, Partner, Spouse, I'll have you however I can have you!" Aziraphale cried out as he wrapped his arms and wings around Crowley. "I love you!" He sobbed into Crowley's shoulder.

"I love you, too." Crowley said as he wrapped his arms and all of his wings around Aziraphale as best he could without disturbing Aziraphale's own wings.

They would've held each other until the Earth truly ended if it wasn't for the shop door's bell ringing and the door being swiftly flung open. They turned around and saw Lucifer with disheveled hair and black pajama bottoms. "Y-You...You're ALIVE!?"

Crowley brought his wings back in as he left Aziraphale's hold. He looked at Aziraphale, asking a silent question, to which the answer was a smile and a nod, so he moved forward until he was directly in front of Lucifer. "I'm a Seraphim once again. Aziraphale and I passed the test of True Love and of Soulmates. Yes, I'm really here. No, I'm not a hallucination."

"You're really here, but...you..."

"Angels and Demons don't need hearts or lungs, Brother."

Tears instantly streamed down Lucifer's face as he quickly wrapped his arms around Crowley, sobbing into his risen brother's shoulder. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" He wailed as he held Crowley tighter.

Crowley returned the embrace with gentle tears of his own. "Yes, I am."

After a few minutes, Lucifer eventually released his hold on Crowley so that he could wipe away his tears. "Oh...I-I'm sorry...I interrupted your's and Aziraphale's reunion."

"No, you didn't." Aziraphale answered kindly. "We had our reunion and it will continue later."

"Later?" Crowley questioned with a risen brow.

"Ha! It seems he's a bit slow on what you mean, Aziraphale. W-Well...I'll...Perhaps...we can spend time together at some point. A picnic perhaps?" Lucifer sheepishly asked.

"That would be lovely." Crowley answered.

"Good. Good...that's...Oh...I'm so glad you're back. I...I think I'll be able to sleep better now. I'll leave the two of you alone tonight. You both need it." He miracled himself away, leaving Crowley a bit confused and Aziraphale smirking.

"Okay...he knew what you meant, but apparently I'm lost." Crowley said as he walked back to Aziraphale.

"Well, I do believe I said I would happily have fledglings with you. In order to do that, I believe a certain activity must happen before I become pregnant."

"O-Oh!" Crowley blushed while his pupils dilated immediately. "I-I would like that. I would like that very much. I...That's something I've wanted a-and-"

"-and I was hoping you'd say that." Aziraphale smiled before he grabbed Crowley by the hand to lead him upstairs. That night, they truly began the first night of the rest of their lives, but this time knowing that no matter what happens, they will always be able to stand against any test thrown at them, because they were truly on their own side.


End file.
